HINGHAM — Last night the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative trained 16 lobstermen from the Boston Harbor Lobstermen’s Cooperative at the South Shore Country Club, Hingham. The lobstermen requested the training on overdose awareness and how to administer nasal naloxone, in order to better prepare captains and industry leaders to respond to the nationwide opioid epidemic.
P.A.A.R.I. also distributed 16 Narcan kits from Adapt Pharma to the lobstermen.
The training was done by P.A.A.R.I. Executive Director Allie Hunter McDade, along with Hingham Police Chief Glenn Olsson and Nicole Garrity, the Senior Prevention Specialist from Manet Community Health Center Inc. In addition to training them how to identify and respond to an overdose, and equipping them with the Narcan kits, officials talked about local resources for individuals seeking treatment and their loved ones, including the drop-in events hosted by East Bridgewater, Plymouth, and Scituate police departments.
The Fishing Partnership Support Services hosted the training.
“The Hingham Police and Hingham Cares are pleased to be partnering with P.A.A.R.I. and the lobstermen to help raise awareness about the opioid issues,” Chief Olsson said. “I am very excited to be outfitting our harbormaster boats and as well many lobster boats with Narcan. This will help provide added coverage to so many citizens who use Boston harbor for work and recreation.”
Added Hunter McDade: “Without nasal naloxone on hand, an opioid overdose at sea would almost certainly be fatal, as there is not enough time for a first responder to arrive in time. We are proud to be working with another seaside community to ensure that lifesaving nasal naloxone makes it to every boat’s first aid kit. The more people we can train on using nasal naloxone, the more lives we can save.”
The idea for training fishing vessel captains and fishermen originated with Gloucester Police Chief John McCarthy and Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken after an overdose on a docked boat in Gloucester Harbor.
One of the Narcan kits P.A.A.R.I. distributed at the March 29 training for Gloucester fishermen has already been used to save a life.
Chief Olsson and P.A.A.R.I. are now coordinating with Scituate Police Department about doing a training for their fishermen in the near future. Details will be announced as soon as they are available.
