Sea disaster investigators have made a desperate plea to fishermen to wear life vests.
It comes as a report found that an experienced fishermen would not have died if he followed simple safety procedures.
When a Lifeboat crew rushed to the scene they found his abandoned fishing boat empty but a lifejacket hanging, unused, in the wheelhouse.
Michael Mulkerrin, 47, from Carna, Galway was no where to be found, a search the following day located him dead in the water.
A Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) probe found that there were safety failings on the single crew vessel.
The report said: “On the 22nd November, 2017 at 12.22 hrs the fishing vessel ‘FV Julie Eleanor’ departed with a single fisher aboard.
“At 21.46 hrs on 22nd November the Coast Guard received a phone call reporting the fishing vessel as overdue. At 23.15 hrs the SAR helicopter located the vessel at a position 1.2 miles south east of Barna where it was held fast to a line of pots.
“The Galway lifeboat crew boarded the vessel at 23.21 hrs and found nobody aboard. The sole Personal Floatation Device (PFD) with which the vessel was equipped was subsequently located in the wheelhouse.
“The search was suspended at 01.33 hrs on 23rd November and was resumed at first light. The body of the fisher was recovered around noon approximately five miles east of where the vessel had been located.”
The investigation found a catalogue of tragic failings that led to the death of the seafarer.
Authorities were never notified that the FV Julie Eleanor was at sea.
The report said: “As a result valuable time was lost in ascertaining if the vessel had returned. Four hours elapsed between the time when concerns arose and the alarm was raised. Once the alarm was raised the search was commenced.”
It added: “A sole occupant of a vessel is at considerable risk. Once such a person enters the water and becomes detached from the vessel, the safety and the communication equipment aboard is of little use as it cannot be activated.
“Survival in the water is dependent on the speed of recovery. A Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) could, if activated, raise the alarm very quickly.
“The Casualty was not wearing the PFD which was aboard. The vessel was equipped was a Mullion BIM which incorporated a PLB. Had this been worn by the Casualty it is likely that he would have stayed afloat and could have been able to raise the alarm.”
The report could not determine what caused the experienced fisherman to fall overboard. It also reported that his body was carried in the current as the tide rose in the area.
Ultimately the report found: “If the Casualty had been wearing the PFD and a PLB then the alarm could have been raised earlier and the Casualty may have survived.”
The MCIB also criticised the use of mobile phones as a method of communication.
The MCIB called on Government to issue: “The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport should issue a Marine Notice confirming that craft engaged in non-commercial potting should comply with the Code of Practice for the Safe Operation of Recreational Craft and that craft engaged in commercial potting should comply with the Code of Practice for the Design, Construction, Equipment and Operation of Small Fishing Vessels of less than 15 m Length overall.”
