Safety & Survival Training

Because the life you save could be your own

About Safety Training 

  • Programs are free to fishermen.
  • For all fishermen, not just Captains.
  • Essential practical hands-on training.
  • Delivered in port towns where fishermen live & work.
  • Endorsed by leaders in the fishing industry.
  • Taught by Coast Guard-certified fishing vessel safety instructors.

Why Safety Training?

“A helping hand becomes a saving hand. We all have in us the ability to help others. Get trained today!”

Chris Crowther

Safety Instructor

“An emphasis on SAFETY is an integral part of being a successful and professional fisherman.”

Ed Dennehy

Safety Instructor

“Training and practice is the only way to thwart making a fatal mistake in an emergency at sea.”

Russell Kingman

Russell Kingman

Project Officer, Safety

Safety Training Classes

Safety and Survival Training

Safety and Survival Training

Prepare for a full day of hands-on training in fighting fires, plugging leaks, and swimming to a life raft in a survival suit. This course is designed for all fishermen, including crewmen, to learn or hone fundamental survival skills like making a MAYDAY call, lighting flares, and rescuing a person that falls overboard.

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Drill Conductor Certification

Drill Conductor Certification

After completing the 1-day Safety and Survival Training Course, fishermen spend a second day learning how to lead monthly, on-vessel safety drills that are critical for building muscle memory and ensuring the crew retains their skills. Meets U.S. Coast Guard requirements under 46 CFR 28.270(c).

 

 

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First Aid CPR AED

First Aid / CPR / AED

You don’t work next to a hospital. It’s critical that you and your crew know how to provide CPR and first aid for common vessel scenarios like bleeding, burns, fractures, poisoning, shock, and respiratory emergencies. Through our certified instructors, this course meets U.S. Coast Guard requirements under 46 CFR § 28.210. 

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Fishing Vessel Stability Awareness  safety

Fishing Vessel Stability Awareness

This 5-hour workshop provides practical information and hands-on training on vessel stability and emergency responses to flooding problems that cause many casualties. It incorporates practical examples and case studies of actual fishing vessel accidents caused by complacency and other unsafe practices.

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Ergonomics Class  safety

Ergonomics

Fishing is brutal on the body. This training provides practical information and physical exercises that help prevent or minimize the risk of musculoskeletal injuries that often occur in commercial fishing like carpal tunnel syndrome and low back pain. Improving work effectiveness and efficiency means less pain and more time fishing.  

 

 

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Opioid Awareness  safety

Narcan Training

This essential training is incorporated in our other courses or can be held on its own. You will learn about the dangerous epidemic that is affecting all parts of our country, but especially independent professionals with strenuous workloads like construction workers, farmers, and mariners. If permitted by the state, you can learn how to administer Nalaxone and receive Narcan to carry in your first aid kit.

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Latest Posts

Preventing Hypothermia in Commercial Fishermen

Watch retired commercial lobsterman Phil Mason talk about his hypothermia survival story and get tips from Fishing Partnership Project Safety Officer Russell Kingman on Preventing Hypothermia in Commercial Fishermen.

Captain’s License Program

If you’re interested in the Captain’s License Program or earning another Merchant Mariner Credential, Fishing Partnership wants to connect you to our friends at the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Development Program (GFWDP) who has scholarships available for Massachusetts-based Commercial Fishermen to obtain their Able Seaman certificate and Captain’s License.

Safety Training in COVID-19

Learn the COVID-19 protocols Fishing Partnership adheres to that ensure the safety of participants.

What Fishermen Are Saying

  • My crew and I go to Fishing Partnership’s safety at sea training drill program each year so it is always fresh in our minds.

    Boat Captain, New Bedford

  • I tell other fishermen that Fishing Partnership’s safety training is the best thing you can do.

    Lobster Boat Captain, Scituate

  • Fishing Partnership provides great safety training for serious fishermen.

    B. Durkin, Fisherman

Health & Wellness

We assist fishing families access health insurance, deliver health clinics dockside where fishermen live and work and also help fishermen and their families if they have experienced a loss or traumatic event.

Economic Security 

We offer financial education classes and webinars that help fishermen access loans, unemployment insurance and other programs that improve the financial health of fishing businesses and households.

Request Services

Are you or your spouse a fisherman? Do you come from a fishing family? Or, are you a shoreline worker that lives in a coastal community [that's anyone that has a job that supports fishermen getting their product to market and includes boat mechanics, fish cutters and lumpers to name a few]? We're here to help. Complete the Request for Services form and we'll answer your call.

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Show your support for fishermen, their families and coastal shoreline workers. Sign up as a Friend of Fishing Partnership and you'll receive news on local fisheries and learn what it takes to bring fresh seafood, sustainably caught, from the most highly regulated wild fisheries in the world to your dinner table. Learn what you can do to support fishing communities near you.