On July 21, Sunrise County Economic Council Gear Coordinator Brooke Hachey joined Governor Janet Mills, state leaders, members of Maine’s commercial fishing industry, and families from across the state for the annual Maine Commercial Fishing Remembrance Day ceremony in Boothbay Harbor.
The day honors commercial fishermen who have lost their lives while working on the water and recognizes the lasting impact those losses have on families, fishing communities, and Maine’s coastal economy. This year’s ceremony remembered four fishermen, including Stephen Johnson of Machias.
For Brooke, the opportunity to speak at the ceremony was both professional and deeply personal.
As SCEC’s Gear Coordinator, Brooke works alongside Maine’s commercial fishing industry to support programs that strengthen the working waterfront.
Pictured: Brooke Hachey, Gear Coordinator, with her children
at the Maine Commercial Fishing Remembrance Day
ceremony in Boothbay Harbor
Outside of work, she fishes on a lobster boat, and she grew up on her grandfather’s lobster wharf in Addison, where she learned firsthand what commercial fishing means to the families and communities that depend on it. “Commercial fishing isn’t just something I work in. It’s how I was raised,” Brooke shared.
During her remarks, Brooke reflected on the dedication of the men and women who leave the harbor before sunrise, work through rough weather and long days, and risk their lives to provide for their families and sustain Maine’s coastal communities. She also spoke about the ripple effect of tragedy in small coastal towns, saying, “When someone is lost at sea, it isn’t just one family that grieves. The loss spreads through the entire community. It’s felt on the docks, at the grocery store, in our schools, at kitchen tables, and in every harbor where fishermen gather.”
Those experiences have shaped Brooke’s work with Green & White Hope, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving safety for commercial fishermen.
Turning Conversations Into Action
During the ceremony, Brooke announced the Commercial Fishing Safety Initiative, a new pilot program being developed in partnership with Green & White Hope.
The initiative grew from conversations with fishermen, safety trainings, and survey responses, all of which revealed a common challenge. Many fishermen wanted life-saving equipment, including wearable personal flotation devices, personal locator beacons (PLBs), and improved communication technology, but the cost placed those tools out of reach. “We’ve spent enough time talking about what we could do and what we should do. Now it’s time to do something,” Brooke said.
Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, the initiative plans to provide commercial fishermen with free low-profile personal flotation devices equipped with personal locator beacons. The program also plans to equip offshore vessels with Starlink technology to improve communication in areas where contacting the mainland can be difficult or impossible.
By improving access to this equipment, the initiative aims to improve emergency response and help more fishermen return home safely.
Looking Ahead
The Commercial Fishing Safety Initiative will begin as a pilot program, with plans to evaluate its impact and expand to additional Maine harbors in the future.
As Brooke concluded her remarks, she reminded those gathered why the work matters. “We cannot change the past, but we can honor those we’ve lost by doing everything we can to prevent future tragedies,” she said. “If this initiative helps even one fisherman return safely to their family, then every effort we’ve made will have been worth it.”
Sunrise County Economic Council is proud to support efforts that strengthen Maine’s working waterfronts and improve safety for the men and women who make their living on the water. We look forward to continuing this work with Green & White Hope and our partners to help bring more fishermen home safely.