1. Lifejackets for Lobstermen
National Life Jacket Association
Rebecca Weil
May 14, 2019
The Northeast Center for
Occupational Health and Safety

2. The Northeast Center for
Occupational Health and Safety
Agriculture | Forestry | Fishing

3. Our Project
Why commercial lobstermen are not wearing lifejackets
What will change this long standing issue?

4. Started With Five Steps
1. Figure out why lobstermen don’t wear PFDs
2. Take those whys and figure out which are most
important
3. Identify a selection of PFDs, have lobstermen
test them and rank them
4. From that input, find PFDs that best meet
lobstermen’s concerns and ideals and try to
get lobstermen to buy them and wear them
5. Go back and see if change has occurred

5. Understanding Why People
Don’t Wear Lifejackets

6. Baseline
• 8% say they wear lifejackets, sometimes
• 40.9% have fallen overboard
• 87% know someone who has fallen overboard
• Almost all of them know someone who has
drowned.

7. What Lobstermen Said About
Barriers to Use
 Workability
 Comfort/Risk/Price
 Social Stigma
 Risk Diffusion

8. Quatic Inflatable
Rashguard
12-15lb/35-57N
Mustang Survival
MD 5283 Elite 38
38lbs/169N
Hyde Sportswear
Wingman
22.5lb/100N
Kent Safety Products
First Responder Vest
15.5lb/69N
Kent Safety Products
Rogue II Vest
12lb/53N
Stormline 662
Flotation Bib
11lb/50N
Mustang Survival
MD 3075
Inflatable Belt Pack
38lb/169N
Mullion
Compact Wipe Clean
34lbs/150N
Spinlock
Deckvest DURO
38lb/170N
Devices Trialed

9. Identify Lifejacket Preference
• 181 Lobstermen Randomly
Recruited
• 1 Month Trial
• Surveys at 1 wk and 4wk
• Keep Lifejacket & $25
Stipend
• Participation
• Recruitment: 90.5%
• Completion: 88.4%

10. Hyde
Wingman
Kent 1st
Responder
Kent
Rogue II
Mullion
Mustang
Elite
Mustang
Belt
Pack
Quatic Stormline Spinlock
Comfort
3.7 2.5 3.3 2.5 3.4 3.3 3.6 4.0 3.1
Ease
4.6 4.3 4.8 4.3 4.7 4.7 4.2 3.8 4.1
Motion
4.4 2.6 3.2 3.4 3.3 3.9 4.2 4.2 3.5
Snags
4.4 3.2 4.1 3.9 3.7 4.0 4.6 4.6 3.4
Bulkiness
4.4 2.4 2.6 3.0 3.5 3.4 4.6 3.8 3.3
Interfere
4.5 2.6 3.4 3.3 3.6 3.8 4.3 4.5 3.2
Satisfaction
4.2 2.3 2.9 2.7 3.6 3.4 3.9 4.2 2.8
PFD Evaluation Scores
No Clear Winner!
(Ratings from 1 to 5, 1 being an unfavorable score and 5 being
the most favorable score)

11. Summer Wk 4 n=79 Winter Wk 4 n=68
Reflector 91.1% (72) 89.7% (61)
Personal locating beacon 78.5% (62)
79.4 % (54)
Strobe 76.0% (60) 76.5% (52)
Whistle 73.4% (58) 60.3% (41)
Knife clip 69.6% (55) 60.3% (41)
Flare 50.6% (40) 30.9% (21)
D-ring 46.8% (37) 50.0% (34)
Dye Marker 46.8% (37) 30.9% (21)
Kill Switch 45.6% (36) 39.7% (27)
Signal mirror 34.2% (27) 29.4% (20)
Hydration pouch 31.7% (25)
23.5% (16)
Cell phone pocket 30.4% (24)
13.2% (9)
What Enhancements Would
Increase Use?

12. 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
Kill Switch
Ladder
Personal locating
beacon
(1=Not at all important, 2=Not very important, 3=Important, 4=Very important)
More Than Just a Flotation
Device?
58% said yes, it would encourage them to wear a PFD

13. Motivators | Barriers
Motivators % Selecting Barriers % Selecting
Storm or high sea 74.8% Uncomfortable 74.2%
Emergency 73.5% Interferes w/movement 66.5%
Hauling/setting 34.8% Use survival suit 61.9%
Darkness 34.2% Entanglement 49.0%
On Deck in transit 17.4% Makes me feel foolish 15.5%
Crossing shoal 16.8% None 7.7%
Being on deck 13.5% Peer pressure 6.5%
None 7.1%

15. The Ideal Lifejacket:
Comfortable and Workable
 Flat, non bulky
 Something they already wear
 Easy to clean
 Cool or add warmth
 No buckles or straps
No entanglement hazard

17. At This Point, We Knew
• Resistance
• Powerful habits
• Imperative to try on PFDs
• Need to address and lower the barriers
• Offer cover
• Signs of right direction

18. Personal Choice & Need
Personal Choice
 Cost
 Wear Type
 Flotation Type
 Buoyancy Level
 Certification
Perception of Need
 Role
 Task/Location
 Season

19. Lifejacket Vans

22. Hyde Sportswear
Wingman
22.5lb USCG Type
V
Kent Safety Products
Rogue II Vest
12lb Buoyancy Aid
Stormline 662
Flotation Bib
11lb Buoyancy
Aid
Mustang Survival
MD 3075
Inflatable Belt Pack
38lb USCG Type III
‘Ideal’ PFDs Offering
Personal Choice in Vans
Coleman Shipmate
Industrial Vest
15.5lb USCG Type III
Mustang Survival
MD 3188
35lb USCG Type V
Spinlock
Deckvest DURO
38lb/170N ISO
Mustang Khimera 22
Hybrid 12.5/20lb USCG
Type III
Hero Inflatable Rash
Guard 50 N ISO EN393
West Marine Ultra-
Slim Manual Belt
Pack 15-20lb Type III-
V
Mustang Survival
MD 5183 28lb
USCG Type V

24. Wearitto
work.
#Wearit
#lifejacket2work

25. Promotion
Building on valued concepts

28. 1. Family & Legacy

29. Legacy Preserver

30. Legacy Preserver

31. 2. Captain-Crew Relationships

32. Good Crew

33. Good Crew

34. 3. Myths and Barriers:
Survival Concerns
 Hypothermia Myth – 1-10-1
 Survival Suit
 plan to use instead of lifejacket
 Rope Entanglement
 Inflatables: confidence & maintenance
 Durability and cost of maintenance
 Swimming “Out of 10 captains
I’ve worked for, 9
didn't swim, 3
would sink
instantly.”
“Wouldn’t last 2-3
minutes in the
water, too cold”

35. Cold Water
Survival
1-10-1

36. Social Marketing- How to
Increase Lifejacket Use?
• Place
• Bring PFDs right to where they are: Vans
• Product
• Give the fishermen what they’ve asked for
• Price
• If you want them to try them for the 1st time,
better give a discount
• Promotion
• Remind them what they asked for and what
means something to them

38. Maine
Lobstermen's
Association
Fishing
Families &
Communities
FISHERIES
COMMISSION

39. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

40. Barrier: Survival Systems &
Staying Alive
Stay Aboard
Stop Boat/Alert
Crew
Stay Afloat
Reboard