Commercial fishermen face burdensome as Congress retools the rules. The Coast Guard Authorization Act, as passed by the House, contains business-busters for fishing operations, mostly in the form of new licensing, inspection and reporting requirements for even the smallest boats. Mark Vinsel, executive director of United Fishermen of Alaska, representing 37 fishing groups, told that every commercial fishing vessel require survival craft even seine skiffs. He also said that new changes in the rules doesn’t make sense.
According to Vinsel the breadth of the different fisheries in Alaska does not necessarily match the Coast Guard’s idea of what they are trying to regulate and the safety they are trying to ensure for fishermen. The U.S. Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Advisory Committee has recommended that the Coast Guard assess “risk by fishery” instead of using a blanket approach. The committee is chaired by Jerry Dzugan, director of the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association in Sitka.
UFA president Joe Childers informed that something usually applied to cargo ships and tankers and cruise ships, not fishing boats and that’s a process that very few in the fishing industry have heard of. Childers explained that a vessel has been examines by the American Shipping Society looking at its structural integrity, its ability to maintain power, propulsion systems, dewatering devices, navigation equipment, the deck machinery, basically, everything on the vessel.
He also said that initially there will be boats 50 feet or greater. Smaller vessels are exempted until 2018. At that time, all vessels that are 25 years or older would also require classification. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said that hosing off your recreational or fishing boat would be subject to EPA regulation and permitting. We don’t think this makes sense.
