A fisherman drowned after he slipped off a gangway into the sea at a dock at Marginal Wharf, St. David's on Monday night.

The man who lost his balance was 66 year-old Raymond Pearman of 18, Jubilee Road, Devonshire.

Harbour Radio was the first of the emergency services to be brought in to help.

They said that at 11.40 p.m. on Monday, they received a report of a man overboard from the fishing vessel , that was alongside the dock at Marginal Wharf, St. David's.

Mr. Pearman "slipped off the gangway as he made his way to shore," Harbour Radio said.

Police said that "at 11.55 p.m. on Monday, Police attended a report of someone having difficulty in the water."

Mr. Pearman "attempted to step from a boat docked at the wharf to the shore when he lost his balance and fell overboard," they said.

"Realising this, the skipper of the boat dove overboard and search for (Mr. Pearman) but could not locate him, they said."

A short time later, a team of divers from the Marine Police Unit arrived at Marginal Wharf.

The divers recovered Mr. Pearman's body over an hour later, at around 1.10 a.m. However, by the time he was pulled out the water, Police said he was in an "unresponsive state".

Ambulances transported him to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital but was pronounced dead at 2.30 a.m. by a physician at KEMH.

Fire Services also attended the scene.

The fishing vessel is registered to Craig Trott.

Mr. Trott said he was not on the boat when it happened. "I got there too late to do anything .... Raymond and Lynchfield were the only people on the boat. Apparently what happened was that Raymond was trying to get out of the boat onto the dock, and he was a big fellow ? and got caught between the boat and the dock. He could not sustain it and plunged overboard. His friend tried to effect a rescue but it was high tide. The water right there was 15 to 20 feet deep at that time," Mr. Trott said.

"It's sad. It's one of those things that you always here about but when it happens to you can't believe it. The whole event was surreal.

"You feel useless. Looking back, I think that only way Mr. Pearman would have stood a chance was if there was another man on board."

However, has learned that the only other man on the trawler was skipper of the Lynchfield Eastmond.

Mr. Pearman had two brothers, Keith and Will Pearman, and sister Ann Melley.

Will Pearman said it was a little bit awkward for (his brother) to get off of the boat, and he slipped and fell.

"We don't know if he was knocked out. Eastmond tried to grab him but (his brother) was 300 pounds and he was only 150 pounds."

"He fell in between the wall and the boat," he said.

He said that his brother was not coming back from a fishing trip after all but was actually talking to his fisherman friends at the dock.

Raymond Pearman was a great traveller, especially enjoying going to Europe.

"He could see things to implement in Bermuda that he learned when he was travelling. But he never got a chance to carry them out," Mr. Trott said.

"He was a gregarious, fun loving guy," Mr. Trott said. "He worked hard all his life. He was a good cat. We feel a deep sense of loss."