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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 33 Number 11
July 2006
Coast Guard proposes to shut down LORAN-C
WASHINGTON, DC - If the US Coast Guard budget for fiscal year (FY) 07 is approved in its current version, LORAN-C service will be terminated as a result of its passage.
The agency is proposing zero funding to support the LORAN (Long Range Navigation) network in its budget request currently being considered by Congress. If the Coast Guard gets its way, LORAN could be decommissioned by the end of 2007.
“That is true,” confirmed Cmdr. Jeff Carter of the Coast Guard Headquarters Public Affairs Office. “The proposal is to discontinue LORAN.”
The new budget year begins Oct. 1, 2006. At that time the Coast Guard would begin shut-down procedures. It could take up to a year before the signal is shut off, Carter said.
Fishermen have been caught off guard as news of the pending plans for LORAN termination has gotten around, and it’s not clear if any would be affected in their day-to-day operations.
The commercial fishing industry has largely come to depend on GPS (Global Positioning System) for its positioning needs, with GPS receivers readily available in the marketplace since the 1990s. The track plotters widely used on fishing boats rely on the latitude/longitude positions provided by GPS.
The satellite-based radio navigation system provides repeatable accurate positioning to within about 30' in any weather conditions. It works the same as LORAN – time difference between separate signals. But the land-based LORAN signals have the disadvantage for fishermen of losing their repeatable accuracy close to shore.
GPS units also convert lat/long to LORAN numbers for fishermen accustomed to thinking of the placement of fixed gear or tows in terms of LORAN lines. The LORAN readout is a computed value that is not generated as a result of the unit receiving the land-based signals.
The Coast Guard’s plan to end LORAN service has been in the works for almost a decade, Carter said. The first notice of review of the LORAN system was published in 1996.
The Coast Guard announced at the end of 2000 that it was delaying the phase-out and spent $160 million to maintain and upgrade the system. It continued to research the planned shutdown, however, including opening up a public comment period, according to Carter. The agency concluded that LORAN was not needed or cost-effective.
“The (final) decision was reached after careful review,” Carter said. “We firmly believe LORAN-C is redundant.”
But for some people close to the fishing industry, that is exactly why the system should be continued, as a backup to GPS. They worry about being so totally dependent on satellite signals that could have vulnerability to interference.
Long-time electronics dealer Lew Grant of Lew Grant & Associates in Rockland, ME agrees with that line of reasoning.
“I favor leaving it operational,” Grant said. “GPS is more accurate, but what if the satellite signals were disrupted?”
Right now, fishermen and other mariners could simply turn to LORAN for positioning and navigation.
Congress is in the process of considering the Coast Guard’s FY 07 budget. Fishermen and boat owners who disagree with the agency’s decommissioning plan should contact their congressional representatives to support funding for the Coast Guard to continue operating the LORAN navigation system.
Susan Jones
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