October 3, 2019 — The following was released by the Garden State Seafood Association & the Fishing Partnership Support Services:
Two free safety trainings for commercial fishermen will be offered soon at a convenient Cape May location.
Safety and Survival Training will be on Thursday, Oct. 17, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at Two Mile Landing, 1 Fish Dock Rd., Wildwood Crest. Drill Conductor Training will be held at the same location on the next day, Friday, Oct. 18, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. A team of certified marine safety instructors will lead both programs. Lunch will be provided on both days.
The trainings are made possible by a federal grant to Fishing Partnership Support Services, a Massachusetts-based non-profit dedicated to the health, safety and economic security of commercial fishermen and their family members. The organization has been conducting safety trainings in the northeast for nearly a decade.
Safety and Survival Training will cover:
- Man-overboard procedures
- Onboard firefighting
- Emergency communications
- Flood and pump operation
- Survival suits
- Life raft deployment and boarding
- Basic first aid
Drill Conductor Training prepares and certifies fishermen to conduct emergency drills at sea, as federal regulations require monthly drills on commercial fishing boats operating more than three nautical miles beyond the U.S. coast. Emergency situations addressed in this training include: man overboard, fire, damage control, and abandon ship. There will be an emergency procedures class in the morning and practice drills aboard a docked vessel in the afternoon.
As a pre-requisite for Drill Conductor Training, fishermen need to have taken the Safety and Survival Training within the previous 12 months.
“Every emergency at sea is a potential threat to life and limb,” said Ed Dennehy, director of safety training for Fishing Partnership Support Services. “Through hands-on training, we demonstrate and instill the best ways to deal with all kinds of emergencies. This knowledge can save a fisherman’s life or enable a fisherman to save the life of a fellow crew member.”
Walk-ins are welcome on the day of each program, but pre-registration is strongly recommended. Fishermen may register online by going to the Upcoming Programs and Services section of the FPSS website, www.fishingpartnership.org or by calling Morgan Eldredge at 508-237-9402.
Providing support to the trainings are the U.S. Coast Guard and the Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership, an organization representing all gear and geographic sectors of the Massachusetts fishing industry.