Northeast Fishing Communities Outreach

Outreach Director Ann Backus fills the position of “educator/risk assessor” on this committee and serves with fishermen, trainers, and staff from the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The purpose of the Council is to make recommendations to the Commissioner of Marine Resources.  Current topics include right whale take reduction regulations for the lobster fishery, the development of wind farms in the Gulf of Maine, a rich fishing ground for multiple fish species, and safety training for fishermen. Ms. Backus has a gubernatorial appointment with the Council. The Council holds four required public meetings per year and meets monthly in a workshop format to develop materials and work on projects. Results from the Council’s 2022 Near-miss study inform the Council’s work and educational activities.

In partnership with the Maine Seacoast Mission, located in Northeast Harbor, ME, Ann Backus accompanies the crew and nurse to remote islands off the coast of “Downeast” Maine. During these island visits, Ms. Backus discusses safety issues with fishermen and provides evidence-based health education to fishermen and their wives. Fishermen have made reboarding ladders and built better ventilation for their workshops to avoid exposure to particulates, paint-based VOCs, and Styrofoam vapors.

The ERC Outreach Program has had a presence at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum for close to 20 years. This presence includes being a vendor and a workshop presenter. For the March 2024 Forum, Ms. Backus collaborated with the Commercial Fishing Safety Committee and REDDE Marine Safety LLC to produce a Damage Control Workshop that included a raffle for two damage control kits.

Ms. Backus serves the fishing industry through FISH Safe, her byline in Commercial Fisheries News, an industry-based monthly published in Maine that serves the eastern seaboard.  She has been writing articles monthly or bimonthly since February 2000.

Continued efforts are made to engage fishermen in research and to focus on r2p (research to practice). Research conducted in 1999–2000 resulted in fishermen and the Maine Marine Patrol installing rope lockers in their new boats to reduce the risk of being caught in rope and pulled overboard. The installation of rope lockers continues to the present day – a research result that has persisted over 23 years.

The ERC Outreach Director participates in the International PFD Working Group and the Mental Health Committee, both supported by NIOSH and the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety.

Ann Backus, a founding member of the International Fishing Industry Safety and Health Conference (IFISH) in the early 2000s, regularly attends and presents at IFISH conferences.