A 19 years old commercial fisherman aboard the fishing vessel Miss Birdie was airlifted from the vessel on Monday with complaints of gastrointestinal bleeding. The 80 foot trawler, Miss Birdie was fishing for whiting 30 miles west of Gold Beach, Oregon. A Coast Guard helicopter airlifted the crewman from the vessel and transported him to shore to be treated by emergency medical personnel at North Bend. The crewman reported he had previously had similar bleeding in the past.
Recognizing a medical emergency and taking quick action to obtain proper medical care is critical to crewman safety aboard commercial fishing vessels. Crewmen must also do their part, if a crewman has serious medical condition that present a substantial possibility of requiring emergency medical treatment while working at sea, those medical issues should be addressed before the crewman is many miles from the nearest medical facility.
The Coast Guard again proved their ability to quickly respond to a distress call arriving on the scene just hours after the call for assistance.