Lone fisherman who fell overboard and drowned was not wearing life jacket

A fisherman who drowned after falling overboard was not wearing a life jacket, a report has found.

Skipper John Wilson, 64, was alone on the Harriet J off the coast of the Scottish Borders when he fell into the water on the morning of August 28, 2021.

A Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report found he had probably become entangled in a chain weight in his fishing gear and was pulled through the open door for shooting fishing gear into the sea.

The unmanned vessel motored away and shortly afterwards it passed close to another fishing boat, of which one of Mr Wilson’s relatives was the skipper.

It managed to manoeuvre alongside Harriet J, a 7.19-metre creel fishing vessel, so a crewman could board it and take control.

He confirmed Mr Wilson was not on board and the alarm was raised.

Following a search of the area, Mr Wilson was recovered unconscious from the water off Fast Castle Head at around 9am and airlifted to a hospital. He was declared dead at 9.55am.

The MAIB report found Mr Wilson, from St Abbs, was not wearing a personal flotation device (PFD), which may have improved his chances of survival had he had one on.

It also found he was not wearing a personal locator beacon (PLB), and there were no effective barriers to separate him from the fishing gear on the vessel’s working deck.

The report said: “With no means to remotely stop the vessel’s engine, the skipper was unable to recover himself back on board given its speed of advance.

“The skipper’s chances of survival would have improved had he been wearing his PFD.

“The skipper was not carrying his PLB, the activation of which would have enabled the search and rescue teams to localise the search effort.”

The skipper’s post-mortem examination report found the immediate cause of his death was drowning, but it also referred to ischaemic heart disease as a contributory factor, noting the further strain on an already diseased heart may have potentially played a role in his death.

The MAIB has made a recommendation to the Fishing Industry Safety Group, asking it to expedite the delivery of the outcomes of its working group on lone-operated fishing vessels, taking into account the work commissioned by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and industry body Seafish.