Fatalities Associated With Harvesting of Sea Urchins—Maine, 1993

Abstract

During 1992-1993, six persons died while diving for sea urchins in Maine waters--two during 1992 and four during August-November 1993. The four 1993 deaths were investigated by the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Maine, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); each of the deaths was attributed to drowning. This report describes the results of the investigations of these cases.