Anchorage Daily News

Fishermen are seeing red flags as Congress retools the rules that will govern the Coast Guard through 2012.

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. The bill now heads to the Senate.

"It would require survival craft on any commercial fishing vessel, even seine skiffs. That doesn't make sense," said Mark Vinsel, executive director of United Fishermen of Alaska, representing 37 fishing groups.

"We've got fishing vessels registered in Alaska as small as 7 feet, and more than 2,000 that are 20 feet or under," Vinsel said. "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 recommends 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.

BOATS GOT CLASS

Also included in the Coast Guard act: "classification" for fishing boats.

"That's something usually applied to cargo ships and tankers and cruise ships, not fishing boats," said UFA president Joe Childers. "That's a process that very few in the fishing industry have heard of."

Classed means a vessel has been examined by, for example, the American Shipping Society, Childers explained.

"They look at its structural integrity, its ability to maintain power, propulsion systems, dewatering devices, navigation equipment, the deck machinery, basically, everything on the vessel," he said.

Initially the classification requirements will hit 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.

"Were this to go into effect, I believe you'd find a lot of boats fishing today in Alaska and elsewhere would be obsolete," Childers said.

The Coast Guard estimates 80,000 commercial fishing boats operate in the United States.

HOSE THIS

By September, any water running off the decks will be considered "incidental discharge" -- if the Clean Boating Act gets the nod from Congress.

"Hosing off your recreational or fishing boat would be subject to EPA regulation and permitting. We don't think this makes sense," said Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, adding that it also applies to bilge water, cooling water and ballast discharges.

All recreational boaters are lined up to get a pass on the EPA permits, but not America's small fishing boats. Murkowski is taking heat from the huge sport-boat lobby for holding up the bill last week.

"We've got some 9,700 vessels in the Alaska fleet, predominately small boats with an average length of 36 feet. I think it is absolutely appropriate that if we exclude recreational vessels, as I believe that we should, that it is reasonable to also provide for permit relief for the smaller commercial vessels," she said in a phone interview.

The Marine Exchange of Alaska calls it "a nightmare for anyone who operates a watercraft, from a 950-foot container ship to a 14-foot outboard."

A federal court has ruled the EPA must finalize the permitting process by Sept. 30.

OFFSHORE FISH FLASH

A proposed rule was quietly published last week in the Federal Register that opens the door for offshore fish farms in U.S. waters. By going through the rule-making process, the Bush administration can sidestep congressional debate and approval. The deep-sea farms will make use of existing oil and gas platforms from three to 200 miles off the nation's coasts.

A comprehensive energy bill passed by Congress in 2005 gives the Minerals Management Service the authority to regulate alternate projects, such as fish farms, on offshore platforms, according to a SeaFood Business report. The MMS will accept public comment on the proposed rule for 60 days and hopes to finalize the new rule by the end of the year.

Laine Welch is a Kodiak-based fisheries journalist. Her Fish Radio programs can be heard on stations around the state. Her information column appears Sundays. This material is protected by copyright. For information on reprinting or placing on your Web site or newsletter, contact msfish@alaska.com.

ADVERTISEMENT