In May, a project to provide lobstermen with safer lifejackets landed in the Boothbay region. And in July, the Lifejackets for Lobstermen vans returned to Maine, with four August stops planned on the peninsula.

Two vans are visiting 43 harbors along the Maine and Massachusetts coasts until the end of October. The vans are equipped with 11 different lifejacket and buoyancy aid models. Locally, all are invited to try on personal floatation device models of lifejackets and buoyancy aids, but commercial lobstermen, and commercial fishermen with a lobster bycatch license, are eligible to buy these devices at the vans at a 50% discount.

The vans will stop in Wiscasset on Aug. 8 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the town pier on Water Street. Southport is the next stop beginning at 10 a.m. at a location yet to be determined. A van will be in Boothbay Harbor on Aug. 15 and 16 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Boothbay Lobster Wharf.

The most common cause of death for fishermen is overboard falls, according to the Northeast Lobster Fishing Industry. “Falls may occur in a split second without time to put on a life-saving device. All the devices in the vans are a direct response to feedback from lobstermen,” said project director Julie Sorensen.

The Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety (NEC) is running this project in collaboration with Fishing Partnership Support Services, Maine Lobstermen’s Association, Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, McMillan Offshore Survival Training, and the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association.

This article has been updated from its original posting. The Boothbay Harbor event will be held Aug. 15 and 16, not 14 and 15 as was previously announced.