The current paper deals with the safety of fishing vessels, which needs more speculations than other ship types. The characteristics of accidents of fishing vessels are rather different compared with other commercial vessels. In the context, the methodology of the formal safety assessment, one of the important issues in the maritime world to enhance the safety of marine vehicles, are reviewed and consulted along with other methodologies to see its applicability for fishing vessels. It is anticipated that further effective measures for better safety of fishing vessels can be identified including due considerations of the aspect of human elements, i.e. cultural environment.