According to the news report the House may vote this summer to implement new construction standards for vessels, require training for skippers and mandate Coast Guard inspections. US fishing industry is no doubt dealing with deadliest catch and causing harm to fishermen in many ways. Keeping this in mind the US Congress has decided to reorganize the existing fishing regulations.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, who chairs a subcommittee that oversees the Coast Guard, says she agrees in principal with the House bill. The Pacific Northwest and Alaska have some of the most treacherous fisheries. Lives were lost last year in the Bering Sea sinkings of the Seattle-based Alaska Ranger and Katmai fishing boats.
Experts believe that the House bill’s focus on boats as small as 50 feet long reflects Coast Guard risk analysis. Statistics compiled during a 15-year period that ended in 2007 found that vessels between 50 and 79 feet long had the highest loss rates in the entire fishing fleet. It is told that the key elements of the bill are Coast Guard safety inspections, which are now voluntary, would be required at least once every other year. Skippers would be required to undergo safety training.
This bill proposed new commercial fishing boats that are at least 50 feet long and operate at least three miles offshore would be subject to extensive new construction and equipment-installation standards developed by maritime-classification societies.
