NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) – Five fishermen lost at sea when their boat capsized in a storm were remembered as heroes Sunday in a memorial service that also touched on the question of whether fishing regulations may have unduly put them at risk.

About 300 friends, family and politicians including U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy filled the 173-year-old Seamen’s Bethel to honor the sacrifices of men who accepted the risks of the sea to make a living and feed others.

“Five more men of courage and determination have gone from our midst and will not return to shore,” the Rev. Kenneth Garrett, the church’s chaplain, said from a wooden pulpit carved in the shape of a ship prow.

“I often wonder what is the true price of a pound of scallops,” said Christopher Gaudiello, a fisherman who was a friend of one of the victims.

The Dec. 20 loss of the boat Northern Edge was the worst loss of life aboard a single vessel at sea in New England since six crew members of the Gloucester-based Andrea Gail died in the “Perfect Storm” in 1991.

Swells reaching 15 feet high rolled the Northern Edge onto its side, spilling the scalloper’s crew into the ocean about 45 miles southeast of Nantucket. Lost were Capt. Carlos Lopes; Ray Richards; Glen Crowley; Juan Flores; and Eric Guillen.

The only survivor was Pedro Furtado, who clung to a life raft for a half-hour in high winds and freezing temperatures before he was picked up by the crew of a nearby scallop boat.

Rescue teams searched an 1,850-square-mile area for more than 40 hours but failed to find the other crew members.

Kennedy and another Massachusetts Democrat, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, both emphasized the importance of ensuring that regulations designed to protect vulnerable fisheries stocks place top priority on creating safe conditions for fishermen.

Frank spoke of a need “to do everything humanly possible to make it as unlikely as possible that this happens again.”

New Bedford Mayor Frederick Kalisz Jr. offered pointed criticism of federal rules that critics say cut fishing days and penalize fishermen who leave fishing grounds early, putting pressure on captains to go out in dangerous weather.

“We must not rest until our captains are once more given the discretion to seek a harbor of refuge from stormy seas,” said the mayor of the city of 100,000, which is home port to 280 fishing vessels and employs 3,200 in seafood harvesting and processing.

Gaudiello, the fishermen who spoke of his profession’s risks, agreed.

“These fishing regulations have to change for the better of us and for the industry,” he said.

Federal regulators said after the Northern Edge’s sinking that the penalties they have adopted ensure fishermen don’t exceed catch limits in restricted areas. They also said new rules where the Northern Edge went down – called the Nantucket Lightship area – are more lenient than ever. Rules adopted in June give fishermen 12 days to catch a maximum of 18,000 pounds of scallops in the lucrative area.

The area was supposed to reopen to scallopers in late summer, but that was delayed until November while officials worked out final regulations for fishing the area. Some fisherman say the delay forced boats to sea during hazardous winter months.

Mayor Kalisz is scheduled to meet on Tuesday with the head of the National Marine Fisheries Service to discuss issues raised by the Northern Edge’s sinking.

Most of Sunday’s service focused on the bravery of the five men lost in the latest tragedy.

Kennedy spoke of the passion his brother, former President John F. Kennedy, felt for the sea – a passion he said the crew of the Northern Edge shared.

“The call of the sea is strong and irresistible, even with the knowledge of that danger,” Kennedy said.

Individual services also were held for each of the fishermen, and a wreath was to be tossed into the sea this week in their honor.

The memorial was rich with reminders of New England’s fishing legacy and its many tragedies. The walls of the Seamen’s Bethel held plaques listing the names of lost sailors who called New Bedford their port. The chapel is surrounded by cobbled streets and 19th century buildings that make up the New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park. Herman Melville visited the chapel in 1841 before going on a whaling voyage and included a reference to it in his classic novel “Moby-Dick.”