October 16, 2015 — HYANNIS, Mass. — Eighteen fishermen from around New England took to the seas of Hyannis Inner Harbor on Friday for free training put on by a nonprofit group called Fishing Partnership Support Services.

The fishermen donned inflatable immersion suits, put out fires, plugged leaks, and lit flares, supervised and coached by Coast Guard-certified instructors from various companies and organizations involved in fishing safety and equipment.

See a photo gallery from the training event

“You don’t want to be doing this stuff for the first time when you’re out on the water,” said the organization’s safety training coordinator Luis Catala, a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard. “This is a great chance for them to practice and learn.”

The nonprofit started doing trainings in 2005 and now offers about 10 a year across New England. It has trained 2,700 fishermen in that time, said Vice President Andra Athos. In addition to the trainings, the group’s other main effort is providing health insurance to commercial fishermen, only 10 percent of whom are insured, through the Affordable Care Act.

“Our mission is to ensure the health and well-being of the commercial fishing community,” Athos said. “That doesn’t mean just fishermen, it also means their families and their communities.”

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times