Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada-based seafood producer Clearwater Seafoods has been fined CAD 150,000 (USD 109,599, EUR 93,900) for the death of a worker in 2024.
The company had previously pled guilty to two violations of Nova Scotia's Occupational Health and Safety Act, according to the Canadian Broadcast Corporation. The outlet reported that 36-year-old Scott Dicks died aboard Clearwater Seafoods’ fishing vessel Anne Risley while it was docked for maintenance. Dicks was electrocuted to death after touching a space heater with a tampered power cord.
On 22 April, the Nova Scotia provincial court in Port Hawkesbury signed off on a penalty of a CAD 70,000 (USD 51,146, EUR 43,818) fine, a CAD 10,500 (USD 7,672, EUR 6,573) victim surcharge, a CAD 19,500 (USD 14,248, EUR 12,207) donation to a health and safety education trust, and CAD 50,000 (USD 36,533, EUR 31,297) for an independent safety review.
"How do you put a price on a life? There is no price," Patricia Osmond, Dicks’ sister, said following the sentencing, according to CBC. "No one else should have to live what we went through. I'm all for the fines and the money for safety measures because at the end of the day, everybody deserves to go home."
Per CBC, the court acknowledged that Clearwater Seafoods cooperated with the investigation and admitted guilt early on. The company also claimed to have funded a safety course at a local college, provided a trust fun for one of Dicks’ children, and dedicated a playground in Dicks’ name.
