Fishing? Put safety first!

Captains,

Fishing safely takes time and money, which may be in short supply. Don't risk your life and your crew by being lackadaisical or cheap maintaining your vessel.

Coast Guard activities in the Atlantic northeast and Pacific northwest are designed to help save lives by helping fishermen be conscientious about safety.

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Atlantic Northeast

Read: Currier Post Online 4/11/10 Fishing Industry Focuses on Safety This a a great piece on scallop fishing safety in the Atlantic northeast. It begins....

The seas crested over 10 feet, and wind was building again past 30 knots, but scallop fishermen still worked 50 miles offshore, the names of their boats glowing bravely on an electronic plotter: Saga, Determination, Stephanie Vaughn, Lucky Dan

On the bridge of the Coast Guard cutter Vigorous, crew members could see the names of other vessels that sped past to the west -- the cargo container ships Shima and Furth, cutting tracks into and out from New Jersey's port terminals, their positions relayed by satellite to the Coast Guard's Automatic Identification System.

Pacific Northwest

Coast Guard highlights fishing vessel safety in Prince William Sound

VALDEZ, Alaska – Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Valdez recently kicked off its 2010 voluntary dockside commercial fishing vessel safety examination and safety compliance check initiatives in an effort to advance safety within the commercial fishing vessel fleet.

Coast Guard examiners will be available in Cordova beginning April 26 through May 22 for all commercial fishing vessel operators that are interested in scheduling a free voluntary dockside CFV safety exam. In Valdezexaminers are available throughout the year.

Voluntary dockside CFV safety exams are no fault and non-adversarial, serving to encourage compliance and discourage unsafe operations. Vessels not passing an examination will be provided a work list identifying deficiencies and items needing to be corrected for the vessel to be in full compliance with all applicable Federal Regulations. Successful completion of the exam results in issuance of a CFV safety decal.