Safety At Sea Begins with Training, Preparation

The Fishermen Safety Seminar at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum began with a dramatic video on how to do things right during an emergency at sea.

Knowing what to do during an emergency at sea can be lifesaving. GMRI photo.

In August 2024, the 81-foot groundfish trawler Three Girls left Boston with four crew members, a captain and a fisheries observer on board. Around 9 p.m., the captain reported to the Coast Guard that his boat was on fire and that he and the crew were abandoning ship. The captain conveyed his position, set an EPIRB, the crew put on their survival suits, the life raft was properly inflated and everyone climbed aboard uninjured. Within two hours a Coast Guard cutter supported by aircraft located the life raft and all aboard were brought to safety ashore.

Captain Clint Prindle, Coast Guard District One Chief of Staff said it was an example of taking the proper steps in a dire situation and that was due to training. “Take safety seriously,” he said.

The video was followed by a recounting by fisherman Tim Barrett of an incident that happened when he was on a boat doing a fish survey out of New Bedford. The captain, a friend of Barrett’s, suffered a major stroke aboard. A Mayday call immediately went out to the Coast Guard while the crew stabilized the captain. The Coast Guard sent a cutter and helicopter out to the vessel in poor weather to take the captain off. Within an hour and forty-five minutes, the captain was being treated at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. “The crew’s training kicked in,” Barrett said. “We had just taken a Fishing Partnership Support Services training.”

Lobsterman Tyler Robillard had his own close call while lobstering with his father out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He had just begun setting traps when the second trap off the open stern boat caught Robillard and pulled him over. His father didn’t notice immediately but when he couldn’t see his son’s head above the piled traps, he ran to the stern. Fortunately, Robillard was wearing a PFD that automatically inflated when he hit the water. He managed to hang onto a chain off the stern until his father reached him.

“I was thinking ‘I’m not going to be one of those statistics’,” Robillard recalled. He too had just taken a Fishing Partnership training course where he bought the PFD. “I wear it all the time. The more you wear it, the better off you are,” he said.

Prindle followed these stories by urging fishermen to do whatever they can to keep themselves safe while fishing. “Their training kept them alive,” he said, referring to the crew and captain of Three Girls. “In the Coast Guard we don’t say it’s a life and death matter. It’s always life or it’s death. In this case, life.”

John Roberts, a former fisherman and a trainer with Fishing Partnership Support Services, talked about the various training classes held by the organization from Maine to North Carolina. He urged all fishermen to take a class. “If you take both classes you can get a PFD of your choice for free,” he said.

One class offered by the organization since 2021 focuses on first aid training. “The course is designed by fishermen for fishermen,” Shannon Eldridge of Fishing Partnership Support Services said. “It gives you skills to handle major medical emergencies at sea.” It is important that captain and crew know what to do when their vessel is many miles away from shore, including how to administer Narcan in case of a drug overdose. The first aid training can be customized for a particular vessel and fishery.

“At sea it could be hours until you can get help. We teach you how to give prolonged care until medical help arrives,” Eldridge said. Those who complete the course receive a free first aid kit designed by fishermen.

Free First Aid/CPR, Safety and Drill Conductor Trainings

Fishing Partnership Support Services (FPSS) will hold a series of free trainings in May. To register, visit www.https://fishingpartnership.org/calendar/ or contact Julia Messersmith at 774-840-9418 or jmessersmith@fishingpartnership.org.

April 15: First Aid/CPR, Great Cranberry Island, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

April 17: First Aid/CPR, Isle au Haut, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

May 1: Safety and Survival Training, Jonesport, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

May 2: Drill Conductor Certification, Jonesport, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

May 5: Safety and Survival Training, Southwest Harbor, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

May 6: Drill Conductor Certification, Southwest Harbor, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.