PORTLAND – The Coast Guard cut short the fishing trips of eight New England boats, six of which are from Maine, in the final two weeks of November because of safety violations.

So far this year, 24 boats have been ordered back to the region’s fishing ports for having outdated equipment or lacking essential safety equipment such as immersion suits and emergency beacons.

That total exceeds last year’s count of 22 with nearly a month left, according to the Coast Guard, and it is not the result of any special crackdown.

“This is something we’ve always done,” said Coast Guard spokesman Kelly Newlin. “This is part of our mission, to do safety boardings on vessels. We’ve just found a lot more people who haven’t had the correct safety equipment on board.”

The importance of adequate and up-to-date safety equipment was driven home when the Canadian Mist sank 30 miles off Nantucket on Nov. 3, Newlin said.

The boat’s crew survived gale force winds, 12-foot seas and 52-degree water because they used immersion suits and a life raft. They were rescued because their emergency beacon sent a distress signal to the Coast Guard, Newlin said.

Among the Maine boats sent home for safety equipment was the Blythe Megan, which was boarded four miles south of Great Duck Island. The boat lacked immersion suits and it was sent to Bass Harbor, the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard escorted the Lauren T back to Rockland after the boat was found to have inadequate firefighting equipment, the Coast Guard said.

“It could be many different [reasons] why these people don’t have the right equipment on board,” Newlin said. “Possibly they think they’re experienced and they don’t need it, or it’s too expensive to buy.”