Alaska Marine Safety

Education Association

See AMSEA's calendar of upcoming courses and events
(updated often!)

HERE'S WHAT'S NEW!

December 12, 2008

NEW! Going To Teach a Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor Course?

We have created a list of needed teaching supplies and equipment for instructors teaching AMSEA’s USCG-accepted 10-hour or 18-hour fishing vessel drill conductor classes. This list helps you gather the required paperwork, decide what equipment to borrow from AMSEA and serves as an inventory of the supplies you need to gather.

Take a look at the Instructor's List of Supplies & Equipment for Teaching Survival Equipment, Procedures and Onboard Drills Courses.

December 11, 2008

NEW! AMSEA Instructors' Easy, Online Course Evaluation Form

To help AMSEA monitor the effectiveness of our programs, we request that instructors furnish AMSEA with course evaluations whenever AMSEA curricula, equipment or other teaching materials are used. Until now, this has meant acquiring a paper form, filling it out by hand, and snail-mailing or faxing it to AMSEA.

Now instructors' course evaluations can easily be completed online and submitted with the click of a mouse - easy!

Check out the new, online Instructors' Course Evaluation Form now.

November 7, 2008

AMSEA-Trained Instructors Asked To Help Meet Reporting Requirements

AMSEA relies on training statistics from AMSEA-trained instructors across the country to obtain the grant and contract funds that keep AMSEA operating and supporting those instructors.

If you provide cold-water safety training, please take a minute to read about our new reporting requirements and procedures. Thanks!

November 6, 2008

Marine Safety Instructor Training To Be Held In Seward, AK

Registration is now open for AMSEA's next Marine Safety Instructor Training (MSIT) course. It will be held March 31 through April 6, 2009 in Seward, Alaska.

This is a premier train-the-trainer course. It is an intensive 48-hour, six and one half day program designed to train individuals to effectively teach cold water survival procedures, marine safety equipment and onboard safety drills. The course is U.S. Coast Guard approved.

Learn more and find out how to register.

November 4, 2008

Fall 2008 Issue of Marine Safety Update Available For Download

The latest issue of AMSEA's quarterly newsletter, Marine Safety Update, is now available for download or viewing online. Articles in this issue include:

• AMSEA Mini_Grant Applications Being Accepted
• NIOSH Studies PFDs for Commercial Fishermen
• Port of Seattle Recycles Fishing Nets
• The Significance of Immersion Suit Sizing
• New Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Digest Published
• And much more...

Download your copy now. 1.12 MB

You can download back issues of Marine Safety Update.

October 10, 2008

Proposals Now Being Accepted for 2009 AMSEA Mini-Grants

For the seventh consecutive year, AMSEA will award mini-grants to help fund cold-water and boating safety training and education projects in Alaska. Proposals are being accepted until 5:00 PM, Alaska Time, Monday December 1, 2008.

These grants are intended to increase or enhance safety training and education that addresses high-risk populations and behaviors in Alaska. High-risk groups are commercial fishermen and young, non-commercial boating males. High-risk boating behaviors include using open motorboats, not using PFDs (especially adults) and activities that increase likelihood of capsizing.

The funds are available only to AMSEA-trained educators and instructors who are actively teaching or supporting boating or cold-water safety.

Please see the AMSEA's 2009 Request for Proposal with detailed information about the 2008 mini-grant program and links to an application and application instructions.

October 2, 2008

New Edition of Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Digest Released

The Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Digest brings together all the federal regulations applicable to the operation of unispected commercial fishing vessels in one location and in an easy to read and understand format.

First published by the USCG in 1978, the 2008 edition of the Digest is newly revised by AMSEA in cooperation with the USCG and Richard Hiscock, author of the original Digest. All information has been meticulously updated.

The Digest is valuable to anyone associated with the U.S. commercial fishing industry including individual fishermen, fleet operators, instructors/trainers, equipment providers, USCG personnel, and others involved with the industry.

Download the entire 2008 edition of the Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Digest on our Downloads page.

October 1, 2008

Taking the Strain or Sprain Out of Commercial Fishing

Free workshops in Sitka and Cordova will focus on how ergonomics might help commercial fishermen avoid musculoskeletal disorders, or MSDs — injuries like tendinitis or lower back pain, which can develop by doing the same task repeatedly over a period of time.

Workshops will be held in Cordova on October 7 and in Sitka on October 8. Featured speaker will be Professor Don Bloswick, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah with a background in ergonomics and body biomechanics.

Bloswick had ten years experience as an engineer before his pursuit of an academic career. He has a particular interest in how the material handling activities involved in commercial fishing (lifting, pushing, pulling, etc.) and hand-intensive work can cause sprains, strains and other injuries such as back pain, shoulder pain, and carpal tunnel syndrome in the wrist. He is also interested in how the basic principles of ergonomics and biomechanics can be applied to reduce musculoskeletal stresses and increase safety in the commercial fishing industry and welcomes input from experienced fishers on particularly stressful activities and potential areas for research.

The events are thanks to the following sponsors: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, (NIOSH supported Education
and Research Center), Alaska Sea Grant, and Alaska Marine Safety Education Association.

Cordova Fishermens Workshop
Tuesday, Oct. 7 – 9:00 am until 11:00 am

Cordova Health Providers Workshop
Tuesday, October 7 – noon to 1:30 pm

For information about the events in Cordova, contact the Marine Advisory Program office at 907-424-7542.

Sitka Workshop
Wednesday, October 8 – 8:00 pm until 10:00 pm

To learn more about the workshop in Sitka, or register by October 7, contact AMSEA at 907-747-3287.

September 22, 2008

New Educational Displays Available For Loan

Thanks to a grant from the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, AMSEA has four new educational displays available for loan to AMSEA-trained instructors and to Alaska educators or health professionals.

The lightweight displays will stand on a table top, but are folded flat for shipping. They easily sit on a 5-foot by 3-foot surface. For photographs and descriptions of these displays, or submit an online request to borrow a display, please see our Display Check-Out Form.

AMSEA'S mission:

Reduce injury and death in the marine and freshwater environment through education and training provided by a network of qualified marine safety instructors.