A crewmember with a crushed finger was medevaced from the 221-foot fishing vessel Alaska Spirit on Monday.

The crewman was transferred to the Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell about 58 miles southeast of Nunivak Island on Monday. One of the cutter’s small boat crews made the transfer between the vessels.

After an examination by a Coast Guard independant duty corpsman who was in consultation with a duty flight surgeon, it was determined that the man needed higher level health care. Soon after, he was taken aboard a forward deployed Kodiak-based MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from the 378-foot San Diego-based high endurance cutter and transported to emergency medical personnel at the clinic in Bethel 115 miles away.

The weather during the incident was reported to be calm.

“Our embarked helicopters are an essential resource to help injured fishermen operating in remote Alaska,” said Lt. Bernard Auth, a search and rescue controller with the Coast Guard 17th District command center. “Our health care professionals recommended getting the man to a higher level of care within seven hours to have the best chance of restoring functionality to his finger. Our helicopter crew was the best way to do that.”