Fishing Partnership Support Services Archives

‘Nothing they could do but listen’: How a death spurred change for a SouthCoast fleet

October 28, 2024 — In the summer of 2021, a Mayday call went out from the captain aboard a fishing vessel who needed Narcan to help save a life due to an overdose on board. There happened to be another vessel in the vicinity that was able to respond, and they tossed a box of the over-the-counter drug on board.

The captain administered one dose, but nothing happened. He gets back on the radio. A second vessel was carrying Narcan and tossed it on board. The captain, after the fourth dose, sent his crew member back onshore alive.

“That day there were three fishermen first responders that saved a life at sea,” said Debra Kelsey, with Fishing Partnership Support Services.

Read the full article at The Standard-Times

Fishing Partnership hosting survival training in Maine

May 19, 2024 — When something disastrous happens at sea, fishermen have only seconds to make a series of decisions to determine the outcome. Training for these events can increase the likelihood of survival.

Fishing Partnership Support Services is holding safety and Survival Training in South Portland, Maine, on May 23, 2024, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The training will be held at the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Northern New England. Fishing Partnership is a non-profit support service organization founded in 1997. It is dedicated to improving the health, safety, and economic security of commercial fishermen and their families. The organization has provided critical services and programs to more than 20,000 fishing families in New England.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MASSACHUSETTS: Meet the women of New Bedford’s Waterfront — she finds safety and security for fishermen

May 28, 2021 — On a sunny Friday morning, Deb Kelsey made her way to the Fairhaven Police Department with a box of Narcan, the overdose-reversing drug, in her car trunk. Inside she met with Sgt. Michael Bouvier and Peter Lagasse, a certified alcohol and drug counselor, to discuss what homes they would visit that day.

The three form part of Fairhaven’s Opioid Crisis Task Force. Within six weeks of a medical incident, sometimes an overdose, they make house calls and inform community members of different resources available to help them. They also offer packs of Narcan.

Bouvier went through his notes from previous meetings and recent incident logs. As he named people and addresses, Kelsey took notes in her notebook. They recalled whether the individual was home last time or who answered the door.

Kelsey, a 54-year-old New Bedford native, works as a “navigator” for Fishing Partnership Support Services, a nonprofit with four locations in Massachusetts, including New Bedford. As a certified recovery coach and community health worker, she enrolls fishermen in health insurance, connects them with recovery resources for substance use disorder, walks the piers to inform captains of training opportunities and makes house calls with local police and pastors.

“I like to think of myself as a bridge builder,” she said.

Kelsey previously worked in commercial printing and found her current job by chance when an acquaintance informed her of a part-time job opportunity.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Vaccination Resources for Commercial Fishermen

March 24, 2021 — The following was released by the Fishing Partnership Support Services:

Make a Plan to Get Vaccinated!

COVID-19 is frightening – especially for commercial fishermen who don’t receive paid sick time. The economic costs of catching the virus can be greater than the physical toll of becoming ill. Effective March 22nd, commercial fishermen became eligible to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment. Make a plan of action to protect yourself and your loved ones. Vaccines are safe and effective, free of cost regardless of your insurance status, and have been approved for emergency use authorization (EUA) by the FDA.

Vaccination Resources On Our Website:

How to sign up and/or preregister for the vaccine.
Updates on your eligibility status for the vaccine.
Myths versus Facts Primer.
FAQs about the vaccine.
What to expect after your shot.
Videos of Navigators sharing their vaccine story.
Resources for coping with COVID-19 vaccine anxiety.
Where to find COVID-19 testing near you.

Together we can end this pandemic. Need help interpreting vaccination resources? Contact a Fishing Partnership Navigator 888.282.8816

As fishermen weather the winter cold, are they truly prepared for survival?

January 27, 2021 — The temperatures were awfully chilly this weekend.

On Saturday night, 27 degrees at Provincetown Municipal Airport, with winds at 25 miles per hour and gusts to 37. The low Saturday night was 22 degrees.

It felt like the first truly freezing temperatures this winter on the Outer Cape.

That chill is a reminder of what fishermen have to consider every time they leave the dock.

At a December training in Sandwich, 25 crewmen and captains from Cape and New Bedford fishing vessels sat down in slushy snow to wriggle into what could be the most important article of clothing they will ever try on.

They call them Gumby suits, or immersion or survival suits. A survival suit is bright orange with oversized hands and feet and a tight-fitting hood that reveals only a small moon of flesh: eyes, nose and mouth. The water temperature on that training day was 47 degrees, and Dan Orchard, the vice president of Fishing Partnership Support Services, had the men suit up and jump into the water within a half-hour of arrival. Going from comfort to cold, disorienting water temperatures was about as close to the real thing as could be had shoreside.

Read the full story at Wicked Local

Wellfleet fisherman among those trained in Sandwich to survive the winter sea

December 28, 2020 — Temperatures at the Sandwich Marina on Friday morning, Dec. 18, stood at the freezing mark, with a bitter wind and driving snow. Despite this, 25 crewmen and captains from Cape and New Bedford fishing vessels sat down in slushy snow to wriggle into what could be the most important article of clothing they will ever try on.

They call them Gumby suits, and it’s easy to see why. A survival suit is bright orange with oversized hands and feet and a tight-fitting hood that reveals only a small moon of flesh: eyes, nose and mouth.

The water temperature in the marina was 47 degrees, and Dan Orchard, the vice president of Fishing Partnership Support Services, had the men suit up and jump into the water within a half-hour of arrival. The shock of going from comfort to cold, disorienting water temperatures was about as close to the real thing as could be had shoreside.

Orchard and other staff from the fishing partnership were conducting a day of survival training for fishermen after captains requested it following the sinking of the Emmy Rose. Four fishermen died with the wreck 20 miles east of Provincetown in the early morning hours of Nov. 23.

Read the full story at Wicked Local

Observer Letter to NOAA Administrators

June 30, 2020 — Recently, Fishing Partnership Support Services reached out to federal administrators in regards to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and federal at-sea observers. The following is an excerpt from a letter addressed to Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator for NMFS, and Dr. John Hare, Science and Research Director for the Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

Fishing Partnership Support Services (FPSS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and safety of commercial fishing families throughout the Northeast. Given the state of the COVID-19 pandemic and the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we are gravely concerned by your decision to reintroduce observers to fishing vessels at this time. For the safety of our fishermen and observers, as well as their families, we ask you to change course and extend the waiver until you can work with the fishing community and public health officials: 1) to analyze the risk of the observer program to safety at sea, and 2) to develop effective protocols that minimize transmission of Covid-19.

The CDC has been clear that older adults and people with underlying medical conditions are at highest risk of developing a severe illness from COVID-19. “Severe illness means that the person with COVID-19 may require hospitalization, intensive care, or a ventilator to help them breathe, or they may even die.”

Read the full letter here

MASSACHUSETTS: Fishing sectors, nonprofits seek federal pandemic aid

May 1, 2020 — Fishing stakeholders are urging Congress to expand federal assistance in the next round of funding to include fishing-related nonprofit associations and Northeast fishing sectors to help them keep their employees working during the pandemic.

In a letter to the respective chairmen of the U.S. House and Senate small business committees, stakeholders called on lawmakers to redress inequities toward many non-profits that have been precluded from sharing in benefits — specifically the Paycheck Protection Program — contained in the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

“Our primary principle concern is for the equitable treatment of the Northeast groundfish industry sectors organized pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(5), and for those U.S. fishing industry trade associations organized pursuant to IRS section 501(c)(6),” the stakeholders stated in the letter.

Those associations include the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition, the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, the Fishing Partnership Support Services and other fishing nonprofit organizations.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Fishing community celebration and health fair set for Feb. 8 in New Bedford

January 31, 2020 — Fishing Partnership Support Services is planning a free, day-long special event to celebrate, support and serve New Bedford-area fishing families.

The nonprofit organization will host the New Bedford Fishing Community Celebration & Health Fair on Saturday, Feb. 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Kilburn Mill, 127 W. Rodney French Blvd.

The event features programs and activities on healthy living, pediatric nutrition, enrolling in health coverage plans, massage, mindfulness, the hands-on healing art of Reiki, vaccinations, substance abuse education, Narcan training, and more, a press release said.

For children, there will be costumed characters, a reading corner, games, dancing, a photo booth, coloring and other activities.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Fishing Community Celebration & Health Fair Set for Feb. 8 in New Bedford

January 21, 2020 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Community Celebration & Health Fair:

A non-profit organization dedicated to the health, safety and economic security of commercial fishermen is planning a free, day-long special event to celebrate, support and serve New Bedford-area fishing families.

Fishing Partnership Support Services will host a New Bedford Fishing Community Celebration & Health Fair on Saturday, Feb. 8, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at Kilburn Mill, 127 W. Rodney French Blvd.

Said J.J. Bartlett, president of Fishing Partnership Support Services, “We will be celebrating fishermen and all that they mean to the great city of New Bedford and to the entire Southcoast in terms of heritage, culture, community spirit and economic impact.

“Commercial fishing is a multi-billion-dollar-a-year industry in Massachusetts, accounting overall for more than 90,000 jobs. Nowhere is fishing larger than here: New Bedford is the top value port in the country. We often hear people celebrate this economic prosperity as a statistic; we want to focus attention on the fishermen and families behind the statistics.”

The Feb. 8 event will have programs and activities on healthy living, pediatric nutrition, enrolling in health coverage plans, massage, mindfulness, the hands-on healing art of Reiki, vaccinations, substance abuse education, Narcan training, and more.

For children, there will be costumed characters, a reading corner, games, dancing, a photo booth, coloring and other activities.

The first 25 persons through the door will receive a $25 Visa gift card, with a one-per-family limit. A free raffle will be conducted every 30 minutes from 11:00 o’clock on.

The buffet lunch will feature foods from multiple, various cultures, reflecting the diversity of the New Bedford community. Coffee, tea, water and soft drinks will be available all day.

Twelve local non-profits that collaborate with Fishing Partnership Support Services will have representatives on hand to present information and answer questions on their objectives and services. See list of participating organizations at end.

Also providing support for the event is the Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership, an organization of commercial fishermen’s associations from all gear and geographic sectors of the Massachusetts fishing industry.

The New Bedford Fishing Community Celebration & Health Fair, Bartlett emphasized, is “for fishermen and their families – the partners, children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews of fishermen.”

He said, “We’re providing a reason for fishing families to come together on a Saturday in winter and have fun, share stories and experiences, and partake of some delicious food in a relaxed setting. Togetherness, we believe, can be a powerful antidote to the stresses and strains that every fishing family is subjected to.”

Workplace injury and mortality studies consistently show that commercial fishing is among the most dangerous occupations in the U.S. and the world. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, for example, recently reported that, in 2018, fishermen suffered on-the-job fatal injuries at a rate exceeded only by loggers.

The history of New Bedford well illustrates this tragic reality. Hundreds of New Bedford fishermen have perished at sea through the years, with the latest fatalities occurring on Nov. 24 when three men died in the sinking of the “Leonardo” off Martha’s Vineyard.

“As independent workers and small business owners, fishermen don’t have a human resources department,” Bartlett said, “which is why Fishing Partnership Support Services has developed into the fishing community’s human resources provider. We help fishermen take care of things like health care coverage, safety training, immunizations and financial planning so that they can get back to doing what they do best, fishing.”

Fishing Partnership Support Services moved its longtime local office in 2019 to the historic heart of New Bedford. “We’re now on Bethel Street in the same building as the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center and just down the street from the Seaman’s Bethel,” Bartlett noted. “Everyone should feel free to drop by and talk with one of our community health navigators anytime they’re in that area.”

More information on the New Bedford Fishing Community Celebration & Health Fair and Fishing Partnership Support Services may be found at: fishingpartnership.org