>>Fishermen's Voice Monthly Newspaper, Gouldsboro Maine

Among the many things covered in the safety training courses, the most visable is the use of the survival suit. Fire, explosion, serious injury and man overboard are regular threats. But capsize and sinking, that puts crew in the water, results in the most loss of life. Photo:Fishermen's Voice

Generations of lobstermen have rowed their skiffs and piloted their lobster boats without benefit of life vest or much else to help save them if they fall overboard.

And in each generation of lobstering men and women, there are those who don’t return. Most fishermen lost at sea could have survived, says Joe Fessenden, law enforcement chief for the Department of Marine Resources. That’s why in November the Legislature approved a mandatory safety-training program for all apprentice lobstermen. It’s in effect now, and applies to the roughly 1,400 fishermen with apprentice license status. Maine has some 7,000 licensed lobstermen, not all of them active. In many coastal zones there are no licenses to be had. Under state quotas, one of the only areas where licenses are currently available is Zone C, Stonington-Deer Isle.

Fessenden, who has three decades of warden experience on the Maine coast, said he knows there will be some resistance to required safety drills. But he hopes by having the policy apply only to those entering the business, the concept will be increasingly accepted and supported by the younger generation of lobstermen.

“A lot of people think it’s a waste of time but it’s not going to hurt anybody,” he said. “I’ve been around a long time and we’ve had an awful lot of loss of life along the coast that could have been prevented.”

The one-day Drill Instructor Safety Course, offered by several private companies in Maine, follows the pattern of the required offshore safety training that has been on the books for a couple of years. After the one-day course, offshore commercial fishermen are on their honor to perform monthly safety drills and inspections.

Without these things, Fessenden said, Maine will have more incidents like the one downeast, a few years ago, in which three men aboard a mussel dragger drowned despite having survival suits and a self-inflating life raft on board. They apparently did not know when or how to use their safety equipment. Those stories deeply trouble Fessenden because in such cases tragedy could have been averted.

“I know, with a good fishermen, you’re focused on saving the vessel,” he said. “This whole thing is about preparing. Something can happen. We’ve lost a few fishermen this year. Most of those deaths, in my opinion, could have been prevented.”

Fessenden has investigated many deaths at sea and he has known many of the fishermen personally. “It’s all horrible,” he said.

If a young lobsterman can’t afford the estimated $150 charge for the safety training, that’s no excuse. Officials have authorized $70,000 in revenue from the vanity lobster license plates for scholarships.

Fessenden said marine safety is always a balance between leaving some decisions to common sense and others to government regulation. He believes this latest rule adopted by his agency’s Commercial Fisheries Safety Council is worthwhile. “It’s an accomplishment. I know it’s going to save lives.”