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Buckle up on the boat

The week of July 4 – 12 is National Fishing Week in Canada. It's a week for fun in the sun and on the open water with friends and family.
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Just as seatbelts save lives in automobiles, a lifejacket can save your life while out on the water. Supplied photo.
The week of July 4 – 12 is National Fishing Week in Canada. It's a week for fun in the sun and on the open water with friends and family.

The Canadian Safe Boating Council (CSBC) and the Ontario Conservation Officers Association (OCOA) want to remind anglers to wear a lifejacket while you're out on the water fishing or boating.

According to the Canadian Safe Boating Council and the Lifesaving Society, 80 per cent of recreational boaters who drown each and every year in Canada were not wearing a lifejacket or Personal Floatation Device (PFD).

Most of these drownings occur in small, open power boats, accounting for 60 per cent of these preventable deaths. A majority of these victims were males between the ages of 19 and 35, out for a day of fishing.

Many of those who don’t wear their lifejackets believe that, since they are good swimmers, having them onboard and within easy reach is good enough.

A lifejacket stored under a seat or up in the bow will be of no help when the unexpected happens, like falling overboard while trying to net the catch.

“National surveys clearly show that more than half the recreational boats sold in Canada are used for fishing on a regular basis,” said John Gullick, Chair of the Canadian Safe Boating Council in a press release.

“During National Fishing Week, the Canadian Safe Boating Council would like to remind all anglers not only to have their lifejacket on their boat, but to wear it as if their life depended on it - because it just might”.

Many of today’s anglers are delighted with the models that are designed especially to suit their needs. They’re rugged, allow for full freedom of movement to cast and are constructed with lots of pockets for gear.

Some even come equipped with an attachment from which to hang a landing net. When choosing their lifejacket, anglers should also check the label to make sure it is Transport Canada approved, is the correct size and fits snugly.

For additional information on boating safety visit www.csbc.ca.

For more information about natural resources regulations and enforcement, please visit the OCOA website at www.ocoa.ca, or contact your local Conservation Officer.

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