Too many lives are lost at sea because seafarers were not taking adequate safety precautions, the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources said yesterday.
Dr Woods was speaking at the publication of two marine safety brochures designed to help prevent "man overboard" incidents on fishing vessels and leisure craft.
In the five years from 1991, man overboard incidents resulted in 99 launches of RNLI lifeboats and the loss of 45 lives in the waters around Ireland and the UK. Last year, 6,531 people were assisted or saved by the Irish Marine Emergency Service in the course of 1,644 operations. A quarter of the incidents involved fishing vessels.