Who is covered by WorkSafeBC?

With very few exceptions, all workers in the Province of BC are covered by WorkSafeBC (the Workers' Compensation Board).

In the case of an injury, a crew member, master or vessel owner who actively participates in the catching and landing of fish in BC is generally covered by WorkSafeBC.  For the purposes of this document, a master, is defined as a non-owner skipper of a fishing vessel.  

In case of an injury, you are covered by WorkSafeBC if:

• You are a crew member, master or vessel owner actively involved in the catching or landing of fish in BC and you sell 10% or more of the value of the fish caught to a commercial buyer in BC.or�
• You are a crew member or master actively involved in catching fish and you sell less than 10% of the value of your vessel's catch to a commercial buyer in BC; and you have not been fishing outside of the province for more than 6 consecutive months at the time of your injury.
  or
• You are a vessel owner operating as a proprietorship or a partnership (not a limited company) who has purchased Personal Optional Protection.
  or
• You are an owner of an incorporated company that owns a vessel and you have registered your company with WorksafeBC and you either catch or land fish in BC.

In case of an injury, you are not covered by WorkSafeBC if:

• You neither catch fish in BC waters nor sell fish to a commercial buyer in BC.
  or
• You are a crew member or master who fishes outside of BC waters for more than six consecutive months and sells less than 10 percent of the value of the catch to a commercial buyer in BC.
  or
• You are a vessel owner operating as a proprietorship or a partnership and you sell less than 10% of the value of the fish caught to a commercial buyer in BC and you have not purchased Personal Optional Protection coverage from WorkSafeBC.
  or�
• You are an owner of an incorporated company that owns a vessel and you have not registered your company with WorksafeBC and you sell less than 10% of the value of your fish to a commercial buyer in BC.

The measure of the percentage of fish landed in BC generally refers to the value of the fish landed by the vessel in the twelve months prior to the date of injury.