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PRESS CONTACT INFO ROBIN ERICKSON Director of Communications PHONE (401) 831-7700 x101 E-MAIL [email protected]

Monday, April 29, 2002
Red Cross to Train Lobster Observers in CPR and First Aid on Tuesday; Team Will Accompany Lobster Boats to Assure Notching of Females

By 3:00 pm tomorrow, the lobster boats working in Rhode Island waters this spring will be a whole lot safer for all those on board.

That is because on Tuesday, April 30, 2002, from 9am-3pm, 15 government lobster observers will be trained in American Red Cross CPR and First Aid at the Jamestown Fire Department, 50 Narragansett Ave, Jamestown.

The group of observers go out to sea with Lobstermen to monitor the female lobsters that are caught. Begun after an oil spill off Matunuck several years ago, the observers' job is to ensure protection of the female lobster population.

If a new female is caught, the observer oversees the notching of the female, and witness that it is safety returned to the waters. If a female that has already been notched is caught, it is also thrown back, but the boat is paid for the lobster at the going market rate --- even though it is returned to sea. The program is set to continue for several years to grow the female lobster population.

While the American Red Cross of Rhode Island visits hundreds of Rhode Island workplaces each year, teaching employees skills like CPR, First Aid and Automated External Defibrillation, this is the first time the lobster observers have enrolled in the training.

Over the past 18 months, the American Red Cross of Rhode Island has taught over 15,000 Rhode Islanders important life saving skills such as first aid, CPR, AED, Babysitting Training and Water Safety.

NOTE:  Photo opportunities and interviews are available throughout the class. However, out of consideration for the students, please notify Sarah Bilofsky of what time, between 9am and 3pm, you are planning to cover the story.

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