A HARD-HITTING campaign to help the fishing industry improve safety at sea was announced by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott during a visit to Southampton today.

The campaign will use graphic examples of bad practice from wrecked trawlers surveyed by marine investigators.

Advances in marine survey technology have recently allowed wreck investigators to conduct detailed video surveys of sunken fishing vessels

In many cases, these have shown that poor maintenance and operational practices contributed to the losses.

Mr Prescott announced his plan at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency headquarters in Commercial Road, Southampton.

He wants to use the survey videos as part of an awareness and education campaign targeted at fishermen to show how bad practice can contribute to sinking.

The NCA will mount educational visits to fishing communities around Britain with the videos.

Mr Prescott said he "wanted to work with the fishing industry to drive up safety and drive down the number of deaths and sinkings".

He was given a VIP tour of the Southampton Oceanography Centre where he was shown the state-of-the-art technology that makes more comprehensive wreck surveys possible. Mr Prescott was shown a range of projects being developed by the centre, including a remote-controlled underwater research submarine and profiling floats that can be dropped in to the oceans' currents and which send back data by satellite.

He also toured research ship RRS Discovery next to the centre.

She departs tomorrow for work in the Gulf of Cadiz.

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