FISHERMEN must be legally required to wear lifejackets on all commercial vessels to reverse the deadly toll of drownings at sea, the industry watchdog has said.

The call came as investigators revealed that lifejackets on a Scottish fishing boat where 42-year-old Gerard Gillies died "were still in their original packaging and had never been used".

Meanwhile, investigators found that crewmen on a second Scottish fishing vessel - where Craig Reid, 25, died after falling overboard in April - had "become accustomed" to not wearing lifejackets despite Mr Reid's own cousin drowning off the same vessel nine years earlier.

A third report found that the deaths of two fishermen who drowned after their vessel grounded off Pembrokeshire may also have been prevented if both men had been wearing lifejackets.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch has investigated the deaths of nine commercial fishermen in the last 12 months and is now calling on the Marine and Coastguard Agency to make lifejackets compulsory for fishermen working on deck at sea.

The agency's chief inspector of marine accidents, Steve Clinch, said: “The MAIB rarely recommends the introduction of new legislation to solve safety problems, but the rate that commercial fishermen are losing their lives due to drowning shows no sign of reducing. Indeed, this has been a particularly bad year: the MAIB has investigated the deaths of nine commercial fishermen, and today is publishing three reports covering the deaths of four. All four might well have survived had they been wearing a lifejacket when they entered the water.

“In the cold waters around the UK survival time can be measured in minutes unless a life jacket is being worn. However, this message is not getting home despite a three year campaign that has seen almost every commercial fisherman in the UK receive a free life jacket. Evidence from other countries shows that education campaigns alone have little effect on behaviour, but when backed by legislation the change is both significant and sustained."

Two thirds of commercial fishermen who drowned between 2000 and 2014 were not wearing lifejackets.

However, Derek Cardno, safety officer for the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, said they were "extremely disappointed" that the MAIB had not consulted with its members first.

Mr Cardno said: “Recently, we have taken the lead on a number of initiatives including a scheme to supply free personal flotation devices (PFD) to every fisherman in Scotland.

"We have also been very active this year working on guidance for assessing high risk areas on the working deck and drill exercises, which includes the use of a mannequin for man overboard recovery exercises.

“We are not convinced that making the wearing of a PFD a mandatory requirement will make the difference required. We believe it is much better to focus on education and creating a new mind-set among fishermen.

"This includes a recent project working with a behavioural expert, which has produced some very enlightening results."

The MAIB report into the death of Mr Gillies on October 4 last year found that the skipper and crew of the 'Annie T' creeler "never wore lifejackets". Three, supplied free by the SFF, were still in their original packaging.

Mr Gillies, from Vatersay, was dragged overboard into the Sound of Mingulay after catching his foot on a rope and was found floating face down in the water two minutes later.

A separate probe into the death of Mr Reid, a young father from the Black Isle, also found poor safety practice. Mr Reid was standing on a ledge at the stern of the 'Apollo', 20 miles off Orkney, when he lost his balance and fell in on April 18. He was not wearing a lifejacket and his body was not found until July.

Investigators said "no realistic manoverboard emergency drill" had been practised by the crew, and that they routinely failed to wear lifejackets despite the death of 26-year-old William Reid - Craig Reid's cousin - in September 2007 after he also fell from the trawler into the North Sea without a lifejacket.

A spokesman for the Martitime & Coastguard Agency said: "We have received the final MAIB reports on Apollo, Harvester and Annie T which we will consider carefully. We will continue to work closely with the fishing industry on the wearing of personal flotation devices and on the development of guidelines for man overboard recovery."