COAST GUARD CONCERNED FOR FISHING VESSEL SAFETY

WASHINGTON - On March 21 the Administration approved an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) as part of a regulatory effort to develop amendments to Coast Guard commercial fishing industry vessel regulations. 

The ANPRM will be published in the Federal Register on Monday, and may be downloaded at http://www.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/fr-cont.html.

The ANPRM announces the Coast Guard's intention to solicit feedback from the commercial fishing industry prior to developing additional regulations. 

The Coast Guard has identified several areas that repeatedly lead to commercial fishing as being the country's most hazardous occupation.  Stability and watertight integrity issues continue to account for the majority of vessel losses.  Most casualties are related to crew members entering the water.  Maintenance of vessels has also been identified as a significant issue leading to vessel losses.

While there have been improvements in safety within the industry since the commercial fishing vessel safety regulations were published in 1991, casualty rates remain unacceptably high.  Crew safety training and drills have been advocated by the Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Advisory Committee and the Coast Guard supports an expansion of current requirements.

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The U.S. Coast Guard is a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the
Department of Homeland Security dedicated to protecting the safety and security of America.

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