ELLSWORTH — Earlier this month, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report showing that commercial fishing is the deadliest job in the United States.

Perhaps surprisingly, despite the popularity of the television program “Deadliest Catch,” it isn’t the Alaskan crab fishery that is the most dangerous job. Instead, between 2000 and 2009, fishing for cod, haddock and other groundfish in New England waters was the deadliest occupation in the United States. Right behind it was fishing for Atlantic sea scallops.

This fall, the Coast Guard will begin a program of commercial fishing boat inspections aimed at reducing risks in an industry that saw 165 fatalities during that 10-year period.

Beginning Oct. 16, the now-voluntary dockside commercial fishing vessel safety examination will become mandatory for all boats that operate outside the three-mile limit. In Maine, that includes virtually every boat that fishes for groundfish or herring or dredges for mahogany clams or ocean quahogs.

It also includes a large number of the boats in Maine’s lobster fishing fleet. According to the Department Marine Resources (DMR), 1,293 Maine lobstermen held federal lobster permits that allowed them to fish outside state waters beyond the three-mile limit in 2011. So far this year, 1,264 federally permitted lobstermen have renewed their Maine licenses with DMR.

The mandatory safety examination is one of several new requirements contained in the 2010 Coast Guard Authorization Act. It applies to any fishing vessel, whether state registered or federally documented, that fishes more than three miles offshore.

For more maritime news, pick up a copy of The Ellsworth American.