22 Proceedings Summer 2025 The Coast Guard works with vessel masters and local organizations to help address addiction and dispel the stigma surrounding mental illness in the fishing industry. Srdjanns74 | Istock/Getty Images world to hear. Unfortunately, this scenario plays out too often, and because its nature is frequently masked, the true magnitude of suicide in commercial fishing is unknown. Whether it’s a young man who cuts his own wrists, or fishermen who have intentionally jumped off their vessels, suicide in the fishing fleet is an epidemic grossly underreported, in part, from this natural desire to save those involved from the shame. Despite only accounting for the suicides we know of, mental health within the commercial fishing community is in a dire state. The Centers for Disease Control rates commercial fishing as an industry with one of the high- est suicide rates. Flagging an overall suicide rate of 130.1 per 100,000 in 2021, commercial fishermen are 56% more likely to die from suicide than the average person in the United States.1 The opioid epidemic is a further strain on fishermen’s mental health and affects the community at an alarm- ingly disproportionate rate. A 2021 nationwide study reported that commercial fishermen are four times more likely to die of opioid poisoning than the surrounding non-fishing community.2 In Massachusetts, the disparity is far worse—fishermen are 11 times more likely to die from overdose than the statewide average.3 While managing mental illness and addiction is never easy, a life at sea aboard fishing vessels creates additional challenges. The grueling, hazardous work in an often-unforgiving sea with rolling decks and cold water creates considerable workplace stress. The close quarters with little- to-no personal space limit opportu- nities to exercise coping skills. But mostly, it’s the isolation that affects those in despair. With deep sea fish- ing taking men and women hundreds of miles offshore, often for weeks at a time, fishermen are forced to dis- connect from all their support back on land. In times of personal crises, fishermen often don’t even have a way to call for help. Asking the master to curtail the trip, taking a commercial loss measured in tens of thousands of dollars, is unfathomable for most in need of urgent support. So, despair festers. While the Coast Guard has always endeavored to safeguard those at sea, the primary line of effort has histori- cally been through promoting vessel safety. Safe vessels make for safer voy- ages, consequently preventing loss of life at sea. However, when the threat to safety lies in the mental and behav- ioral health of those that take to the sea, rigorous vessel safety measures such as validating life rafts and immer- sion suits does little to preserve these vulnerable lives. Keeping mariners safe is the crux of the Coast Guard’s mission, even when it means protecting them from their own inner demons. Addressing the mental health of commercial fishermen is a Coast Guard mission. Throughout New England, the Coast Guard is addressing mental illness and opioid addiction alongside a coalition of partners. In New Bedford, Massachusetts, one of America’s largest fishing ports, the Coast Guard has partnered with the city’s Waterfront Task Force, participating in outreach events to dispel the stigma of mental illness. The Coast Guard works with vessel mas- ters on how to identify and address personal crises at sea, coaching masters to be active in responding to their crew’s needs, and getting those in distress ashore with as little impact as possible. The Coast Guard also collaborates with Fishing Partnership Support Services, a nonprofit dedicated to prioritizing the well-being of fishermen. Coast Guard leaders participate in Fishing Partnership’s first aid train- ing sessions and advocate for universal naloxone car- riage. The most significant improvement we have made, working with New Bedford’s Waterfront Task Force and Fishing Partnership, was deploying naloxone, often referred to by the brand name Narcan. New Bedford has a significant problem with
