We know all too well that commercial fishing is the most dangerous occupation in America. Each year, for every 100,000 fishermen, we lose 130 lives. Nearly 90% of these tragic losses result from drowning -- fishermen who fall overboard by slipping on a wet or icy deck, are washed off deck by a wave or are dragged under by a hook or line.

Some accept these tragedies almost as unalterable characteristics of life in coastal fishing communities. Since 1650 the sea has claimed more than 10,000 Gloucester fishermen. During the 19th Century, Gloucester lost 200 fishermen annually -- about 4 percent of the town's population -- to storms in the Gulf of Maine and the Grand Banks. But just as a revolution in technology and the National Weather Service provide timely and accurate forecasts so that we no longer have entire fleets caught on the fishing grounds during a major storm, so too should technological advances and innovations in safety equipment make life safer for today's fishermen.

Investments in safety equipment can save lives. In the cold waters off New England and Alaska, a fisherman who goes overboard without an immersion suit has on average 6 minutes to be rescued by his shipmates – by contrast, fishermen with fully functional immersion suits and life rafts are more than twice as likely to survive the sinking of their vessel. The shocking loss of 11 fishermen in the Mid-Atlantic in two short months during 1998-1999 was unfortunately not an anomaly, but typical of historic trends. But it reflected a trend we should be able to reverse: common conditions in these accidents were poor vessel or equipment condition and inadequate preparation for emergencies -- including basic equipment like life rafts, EPIRBs, and immersion suits. Last year the First Coast Guard District reported saving 47 fishermen whose vessels had either sunk or caught fire – and further estimates that 23 of those fishermen are alive today because they had a life raft or immersion suit.

Too many fishermen are unable to keep their safety equipment up to date or in top condition. While safety is always a concern to our fishing families, the most immediate worry on their minds is declining profits from dwindling stocks and closed areas. To meet rebuilding plans for our fish stocks, regulators have implemented trip limits and closed areas to rebuild stocks. These measures are working – but as a result some fishermen, primarily in small boats, travel far out to sea in order to fish outside the closed areas or in places with a higher trip limit. These fishermen -- economically hard-pressed, struggling to make ends meet -- often can not afford to replace or inspect old worn out life rafts and immersion suits. They place themselves at extreme risk to meet their financial needs.

It's time the federal government threw our fishing families a lifeline -- literally. There is a great deal of focus in government today on closing the digital divide that keeps rural and urban communities out of reach of computers and Internet access. Never before, however, has Congress focused on closing the divide between those fishermen who can afford fishing safety equipment and those who can not. With lives on the line every day in communities like Gloucester, it's time that changed. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and I have joined together to offer legislation to help fishermen put state of the art safety equipment on their boats now – not later – to save lives. Our bill would provide fishermen with a tax credit of up to $1,500 for the purchase of safety equipment ranging from basics like life rafts and immersion suits all the way to today's latest Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBS). It is important that we act on this legislation to provide a financial incentive to fishermen facing financial hardship to invest in the replacement and inspection of their survival gear even as their fisheries recover. Fishing families have learned to cut corners during difficult economic times -- but the government should never sit idly by and allow basic safety to be compromised no matter the price tag of prevention.

From sound fisheries management to emergency funding to keep fishing families afloat during hard times, we've worked together at all levels of government to ensure that our fishing industry will survive well into the future. Fishing is an enduring part of our state's heritage -- tragedy on the seas should not be. Today we have a common sense responsibility not just to help the industry survive, but to protect our brave fishermen when accidents occur. The time is long overdue to invest in safety – and to put safety incentives from the federal government on the side of Gloucester's great fishermen.