ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Are your ready for sea? The Coast Guard will offer courtesy dockside examinations of commercial fishing vessels in Cordova in anticipation of the 2008 Cordova salmon fishery, which is slated to begin May 15. The Coast Guard will also be working with the Alaska State Troopers on the enforcement side to ensure the fishery is carried out safely.
Fishermen can sign up for an exam by calling Marine Safety Unit (MSU) Valdez, Chief John Hawkins, at (907) 255.8724, or by speaking directly with one of the Coast Guard examiners working in Cordova’s harbors. Vessels participating in the opener will have priority in scheduling, though operators of other commercial fishing vessels may request courtesy dockside exams as well.
The courtesy dockside examination program offers fishermen an opportunity to work with Coast Guard representatives to ensure that their vessels meet Federal safety regulations. The exams focus on safety and address items such as flares, charts, navigational signals, fire extinguishers, Emergency Position Indicating Locator Beacons (EPRIBS) and the serviceability of immersion suits to name a few.
“It’s far more desirable to find your immersion suit has a leak when you’re five feet from shore than in the open ocean,” said Charlie Medlicott, Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Coordinator Western Alaska.
Understanding stability is vital to safely operating. Examiners will be evaluating the stability of the vessels they examine and may make recommendations to improve the overall safety of the vessel.
The number of lives lost during Alaska fisheries has been in decline since the adoption of the Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Act of 1988. The leading cause of fatalities in the commercial fishing industry is drowning due to the loss of a fishing vessel. However, man overboards are still a serious concern. The extremely cold temperatures of Alaskan waters coupled with weather conditions and vast distances from shore are a deadly combination.
Of the 641 deaths that occurred among fishermen in the United States from 1994 to 2004, 138 (30 percent) resulted from a fall overboard. In a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) analysis of Alaska fishing fatalities from 1990 to 2005, the rate of fatal falls overboard did not decrease despite a significant decrease in the overall rate of commercial fishing fatalities.
It is recommended that all fishermen wear personal flotation devices (PFDs) when on the deck of any vessel. There are more types and styles of PFDs available now than ever before, with several styles to fit the needs of commercial fishermen, including several new slim, lightweight, inflatable PFDs that are worn like suspenders and PFDs that are integrated into raingear.
These free exams give fishermen an opportunity to find and address any safety issues that may be present before they get underway. The examiners will not issue fines or other penalties for any problems they discover at the dock.
Each vessel that passes a dockside exam earns a decal. Fishermen operating vessels with recently-issued decals benefit by being less likely to have to suspend fishing operations to accommodate an at-sea Coast Guard or Alaska State Trooper law enforcement boarding.
Coast Guard enforcement assets will be on scene during the opener and into the season to ensure the safety of all vessels working on the water. The Alaska State Troopers will be running fisheries enforcement operations concurrently with the Coast Guard. Again enforcement will focus on, but is not limited to, non-decaled vessels.
The Coast Guard anticipates sending an examiner from MSU Valdez to begin public outreach and encourage dockside exam participation May 1. The representative will meet with the Fisherman’s Union and work with the harbormaster, Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) and the Coast Guard Cutter Sycamore.
The Coast Guard plans to hold a fishing vessel safety fair on May 3 to conduct safety gear inspections, immersion suit inspections and commence the dockside exams. A larger inspection team will be present in Cordova May 7 – 12.
