Diver drowns in fishing net - BC Canada

[DandyDon]

I think I would have tried getting out of the kit entirely and hope my wetsuit would slide and pull me up - if I thought of it in the panic.

 

[fisheater]

I agree that a gill net entanglement could easily have prevented or nullified weight dropping / BC inflation.

My question is where was his buddy? Entanglement is way up there on underwater problems for which a buddy is nearly indispensable.


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[AfterDark]

I agree that a gill net entanglement could easily have prevented or nullified weight dropping / BC inflation.

My question is where was his buddy? Entanglement is way up there on underwater problems for which a buddy is nearly indispensable.


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One of the worst night dives I went on was because one of the two guys I was diving with got caught in a monofilament gill net. I started to help him as he was getting more entangled with every move he made. I became entangled in short order. Fortunately the third guy was able to cut the 1st guy then me out of the net. It took most of our air to get out and we ended the dive shaken but safe. These things are no joke.

 

[Hatul]

The gillnets, what kind of rope are they made of? Can they be cut by diving shears?

 

[Thalassamania]

Gillnets are very, very difficult situations.

 

[Hatul]

I learned that abandoned gillnets are not only dangerous to divers but also trap sea animals and drown sea birds.

Gillnets Kill

Adam

 

[DandyDon]

There seems to be some questions about the net and the diver: BCLocalNews.com - Coroner probes Alberni scuba diving death

An investigation is underway into the death of a 42-year old scuba diver who died after being caught in a fishing net at Harbour Quay.

A B.C. coroner’s investigation may look at what the diver was aware of in the area, and his diving alone, Port Alberni RCMP Staff Sgt. Kevin Murray said.

An autopsy is scheduled to take place this week.

Emergency crews including the Canadian Coast Guard and the coast guard auxiliary responded to a call of a solo diver in distress at the quay at 8:50 p.m. on Sunday.

The man was pulled unconscious and not breathing from a fishing net, and was rushed to West Coast General Hospital where medical personnel pronounced him dead.

The family was expected to come forward with the man’s name by the end of the week. They had asked the RCMP not to publicly identify him until other family members were notified.

The man was an experienced diver and was diving alone when the accident happened, Murray said.

It’s not known how the man became entangled in the net, he added.

The net was from the aboriginal fishery currently underway and police and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) are trying to find its owner, Murray said.

The net was set near the wharf behind the Port Boat House.

It was marked and had a visible buoy, Murray said.

It’s common to see nets set out in the area at this time of year, he added.

“You’ll have to talk to DFO about whether those issues need to be addressed.”

The Port Alberni Port Authority is responsible for the dock and pilings where the accident happened. But the PAPA has no policies with respect to scuba diving or fishing nets set near its infrastructure, harbour master Mark Braithwaite​ said.

“Anything to do with the fishery and nets is DFO,” he said.

“We haven’t had a complaint about them (fishing nets).”

When contacted by the News, DFO officials declined to answer questions about fishing nets set in an industrial area or whether the matter will be reviewed with local First Nations.

“…it would not be appropriate to comment on the issue while the matter is under investigation,” DFO spokesperson Kirsten Rucker wrote in an e-mail reply.

There have been questions among fishermen about why the man was diving in the area, Tseshaht councillor Luke George said.

“But a man is dead, his family is hurting and now isn’t the time for that,” he said.

“There’s difficult feelings about this on all sides.”

Tribal regulations require that fishers use 40-fathom nets in the area where the accident happened, George said.

The nets have to be marked with an identifying tag and a buoy.

Nets can be deceiving though once they're set.

“You can see the corkline above the surface, but you can’t see how the current and choppy water sways the webbing back and forth underneath,” he said.

“If your wrist watch, belt buckle, or your lifejacket gets snagged on the web then you’re caught.”

 

[scubafanatic]

I seem to see many divers lately (perhaps I'm just missing it) not carrying any kind of cutting device, whether a knife, shears, or Trilobite type cutter. Not sure if this is becoming a trend (those of us that dive Lanier, here in Atlanta, tend to be conscious of this due to all the possible fishing line entanglements -- and typically carry redundant cutters).

Was there any mention of the absence of a knife?

Many divers are trained to NOT dive with a knife, as many dive ops and assorted countries forbid knives (ie Cozumel, for example).

 

[Aussiemike]

No knives! Does that include hook knives and v cutters? Hopefully shears are ok. This is probably fallout from divers carrying those huge "fantasy " knives that they hope to use fending off great whites.

There are a lot of places I wouldn't dive if I couldn't carry a cutting instrument, like the harbor of any city, in fact most any shore dive near a population centre.

mike

 

[AfterDark]

I learned that abandoned gillnets are not only dangerous to divers but also trap sea animals and drown sea birds.

Gillnets Kill

Adam

I'd like to destroy every gill net I find but truthfully, I'm afraid to get near one. My only experience was as I posted in #13 and it was one of my experiences that really scared me. I do a lot of solo diving and that event is in my mind whenever I do. I carry a knife, a shear and a line cutter, which is all fine as long as the entanglement allows access to one of the tools and it isn't DROPPED! I'm not one for a lot of regulation but I know when something is as dangerous as these nets some form of govt. regulation is warranted.