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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 33 Number 6
February 2006
NMFS requires dockside exam decals on fishing boats carrying observers
GLOUCESTER, MA - The Coast Guard is reminding fishermen that a new National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) observer program rule goes into effect on May 1.
The new rule requires a fishing vessel to have a voluntary dockside examination decal – acquired within the last two years – before a NMFS observer can go out on the boat.
The hitch here is that NMFS intends to prohibit a vessel from fishing if it has been selected to take an observer and doesn’t have the decal.
“Vessels that are required to carry an observer but are inadequate or unsafe for purposes of carrying an observer (meaning no decal or other safety violation) are prohibited from fishing without observer coverage,” NMFS said in a letter to permit holders last fall.
“Enforcement action may result when a vessel is required to take an observer, does not meet the safety requirements thereby not being able to take an observer, and they continue to fish,” it continued.
The Coast Guard stressed that dockside exams are “no-fault,” meaning that a vessel owner won’t be written up for failing to meet all safety requirements. Instead, the examiner points out the deficiency, allows the owner to fix it, then re-examines the boat. If everything is in order, a decal is then issued.
You can schedule a dockside exam by calling your local Coast Guard examiner:
• Portland, ME – (207) 780-3256;
• Boston, MA – (617) 223-3045;
• Providence, RI and Cape Cod, MA – (508) 999-0072;
• Long Island Sound, covering both Connecticut and New York – (203) 468-4437;
• Baltimore, MD – (410) 576-2526;
• Hampton Roads, VA – (757) 668-5535;
• Philadelphia, PA – (215) 271-4852;
• Willmington, NC – (910) 772-2231; or
• Atlantic Beach, NC – (252) 247-4562.
The NMFS rule applies to any boats holding a Northeast federal fishing permit or which participate in a Category I or Category II fishery under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Those vessels are required to take observers if asked.
If you have any questions, call David Potter, chief of the Fisheries Sampling Branch, at (508) 495-2262.
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