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.
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