1 Fisherman Rescued, 2 Missing

A commercial fishing vessel sank off the N.J. Coast

By JOE PACE and BRUCE SHIPOWSKI

Updated 4:15 PM EDT, Thu, Dec 24, 2009

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Coast Guard crews spend Christmas Eve searching the freezing waters of the Atlantic Ocean after a commercial fishing vessel carrying three people sank off the New Jersey Coast.

One fisherman was rescued shortly after the boat went down and taken to the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center where he was treated for undisclosed injuries. The U.S. Coast Guard is utilizing multiple resources in an effort to find the other two missing men as well as the ship.

Around 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday, a distress signal was detected from the 38-foot Alisha Marie, according to the United States Coast Guard.

Robert Mark Cooper, of Point Pleasant, was conscious and responsive when found and told rescuers he was the only one to get into the raft, Coast Guard Petty Officer Crystalynn Kneen said.

The boat went missing off the New Jersey coast...

The ship was last reported to be about 25 miles off the coast of Barnegat Bay, Ocean County, N.J. white it was hit by a large wave "that caused it to roll," Cooper said.

Still missing were William Brown Jr. and Joseph Bell, both of Newport News, Va. Crews will continue to search for the pair "until it's determined there is no chance for survival," Kneen said.

Officials determine that by considering such factors as water temperature, weather and the health of the missing. Waves were 6 feet when the boat sank, officials said, winds were about 30 mph and the water temperatures was around 40 degrees.

Watchstanders contacted the owner of the Point Pleasant Beach-based boat after the Coast Guard received the distress signal, and they confirmed survival suits, flares and a life raft were aboard. A helicopter from Air Station Atlantic City soon found the raft and took Cooper to safety.

It has been a tough year in New Jersey for the commercial fishing industry. Nine commercial fishermen operating out of Cape May have died at sea so far in 2009.

Three people died last month when the Sea Tractor sank off Cape May, and the owner's body was found when it washed ashore at a North Carolina wildlife refuge. And the Lady Mary -- another North Carolina-based boat that operated out of Cape May -- sank in March, killing six of the seven crew members on board.

A joint Coast Guard-National Transportation Safety Board investigation is trying to determine the cause of the latter accident. The boat owner, Royal Smith Sr., who lost two sons and a brother in the disaster, believes the Lady Mary was struck by another vessel that then left the area.