Safety

The Coast Guard pulled two fishermen from the water three miles northeast of Block Island after their 55-foot fishing trawler capsized Saturday evening, January 7. The F/V Elizabeth Helen overturned at approximately 3:55 p.m. Saturday and the Coast Guard was on the scene by 5 p.m.

The Coast Guard was directed to the two uninjured crewmen sitting in a life raft by a red flare. A Coast Guard representative said the boat had been listing to one side and when the crew attempted to haul in their catch, the weight caused the boat to capsize.

The Elizabeth Helen, owned by Steven Arnold of West Kingston, sails out of Point Judith and was fishing for skate. The vessel sank in approximately 130 feet of water and there were about 900 gallons of diesel fuel on board.

Read the complete story from The Block Island Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A disabled 75-foot New Bedford fishing trawler, towed through 10-foot seas and 30-knot winds by a series of U.S. Coast Guard vessels since breaking down off New Hampshire last night, has arrived safely in Gloucester Harbor and was  towed to Cruiseport Gloucester around noon today.

The final steps in the tow, carried out by the Coast Guard's 87-foot patrol boat Flying Fish and a pair of motor lifeboats out of Coast Guart Station Gloucester, came after the 210-foot Coast Guard cutter Dependable, out of Cape May, N.J., was dispatched north from Cape Cod Bay and began the rescue effort last nght.

According to the Coast Guard, the four-person crew of the 75-foot stern trawler Bulldog used their radio to contact watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Northern New England Command Center Thursday night to report the vessel's engine shaft had broken and they needed assistance.

The watchstanders issued a marine assistance broadcast requesting any mariners in the area to assist, but did not receive any responses.

Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BARNEGAT LIGHT, N.J. — A fishing vessel capsized 10 miles off New Jersey, killing one person and leaving another to be rescued by a passing vessel known for its crew’s role on the reality television show “Swords.”

The Mandy Ness, a 44-foot commercial fishing boat based in Barnegat Light, capsized off Long Beach Island around 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, Coast Guard Petty Officer Crystalynn Kneen said.

The Coast Guard launched a search after receiving an emergency transmission from a beacon that activates when it gets wet. The agency dispatched a helicopter from Atlantic City and a 47-foot rescue boat from Barnegat Light.

It also broadcast an urgent request for help to mariners. The crew of the Frances Anne heard the broadcast, went to the aid of the capsized vessel and took one person aboard.

Read the complete story from The Washington Post

 

 

 

 

 

NEW BEDFORD — Supporters of a popular safety training program for fishermen say public funding has been cut and they are now looking to raise money to sustain and expand the program.

Since it first began in 2005, the one-day program has provided safety and survival training at no cost to more than 1,200 fishermen, with funding initially coming from both the state and federal governments.

"This training is near and dear to the fishing community," said Ed Dennehy, program coordinator. "We don't have to do any marketing because it's word of mouth. Fishermen are always asking us when the next one is going to be. They have really embraced this."

The training is conducted at the School for Marine Science and Technology and covers such topics as the use of survival suits, damage control, firefighting, life rafts and man-overboard recovery.

Read the complete story from The Standard-Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Viewers watching television's “The Deadliest Catch” think the waters plied by the Alaskan crab boats of the Bering Sea are the most lethal in the world. BoatUS surprisingly reports the deadliest fishing area is actually here in New England's ground fish waters.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health figures reveal that from 2000 to 2009, New England's fishery for sole, flounder, monkfish, pollock, haddock and cod takes far more lives. Our region's 26 fatalities are more than twice the total for crab fishing.

Fishermen who go out in bad weather to pull lobster pots or are lured unreasonably by the price of haddock, cod or monkfish this time of year, need to resist bad judgment when venturing forth.

Read the complete story from The Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

 

 

 

 

SOUTHWEST HARBOR, Maine—A Coast Guard helicopter has successfully retrieved a fisherman who suffered an apparent heart attack 60 miles off the Maine coast.

Lt. Nick Barrow says a helicopter was dispatched from Cape Cod on Saturday after a 32-year-old crew member of the fishing boat Diane Lynn II began suffering symptoms consistent with a heart attack.

Read the complete story by The AP from The Boston Globe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rate of fatal work injury for U.S. workers in 2010 was 3.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, the same as the final rate for 2009 — but that may change. Data released in the last two weeks offers a preliminary count. The final 2010 data will be released in the spring of 2012 and shouldn’t be much different.

The BLS breaks down the numbers to tell us what the most dangerous professions of all in America are. The top spot on the list goes to fishermen and fisherwomen, who lost their lives at a rate of 116 per 100,000 full-time workers. Fishing is a legendarily hazardous occupation, particularly Alaskan shellfishing, and fatalities have been high in recent years. High compensation helps offset the risks and seasonal fluctuations that come with the work.

Read the complete story from MSNBC.

 

 

 

 

 

The state has closed all coastal North Carolina waters to shellfish harvesting because of the potential impacts of floodwaters.

The Division of Marine Fisheries will test shellfish waters today and reopen them when tests show bacteria levels are safe, according to a news release from the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Read the complete story from THe Virginian-Pilot

 

 

 

In accordance with Chapter 130, section 74A of the Massachusetts General Laws, (MGL), the Division of Marine Fisheries has determined that those areas listed below under the heading ST A TUS: OPEN TO THE T AKING OF SHELLFISH in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that were closed due to the impact of Hurricane Irene on August 28, 2011, now meet the National Shellfish Sanitation Program guidelines for an "OPEN" status.

Under authority ofMGL, Chapter 130, Section 74A, 75 and 322 CMR 7.01 (7) the below- defined areas will revert to their former status prior to the closure of August 28, 2011; effective at sunrise Tuesday, August 30, 2011. Those areas previously classified as APPROVED and in the "OPEN" status to shellfish harvesting are now open to the harvest of shellfish for direct human consumption subject to local rules and regulations under authority ofMGL Chapter 130, section 52. Similarly, those areas classified as CONDITIONALLY APPROVED are open subject to the classification conditions. Areas classified as RESTRICTED, CONDITIONALLY RESTRICTED and PROHIBITED remain closed to the harvest of shellfish for direct human consumption.

STATUS: OPEN TO THE TAKING OF SHELLFISH

"The waters, flats and all tributaries of the Commonwealth ofMassachusetts from the New Hampshire – Massachusetts State Line south to the Rhode Island – Massachusetts State Line out to the State Boundary Line. This includes GBHI-6, MBI-MBI4, CCBI-CCB51, OCI-0CI0, SCI-SC64, NTI-NTI4, VI-V35, EI-EI4, MHBI-5, BBI-BB58, N4, N5, N7 and NI1-N28

Restrictions on private aquaculture effective on August 30 are also discontinued.

STATUS: CLOSED TO THE TAKING OF SHELLFISH

The waters, flats and all tributaries of areas: Nl, N2, N3, N6, N8-NI0 will remain closed until further notice

 

Read the letter from Director Paul Diodati

 

 

 

 

 

 

NBC's Ron Allen reports on Hurricane Irene from New Bedford harbor, noting that it is one of the safest ports on the East Coast, and that the fishing fleet remained "rock solid" throughout the storm.

New Bedford harbor is protected by a 9,100 stone and steel hurricane barrier that extends across the mouth of New Bedford harbor. The barrier rises twenty feet above median sea level. The harbor section has two 440-ton gates in the center that can be closed during strong tides or storms to protect the inner harbor.

View the video from NBC Nightly News