The Coast Guard published Marine Safety Information Bulletin 11-16 to provide clarifying information on suspension of development of an Alternate Safety Compliance Program (ASCP), and instead, the development of an Enhanced Oversight Program (EOP) and Safety Guidelines for Commercial Fishing Vessels (CFVs).

The EOP will use existing Coast Guard authorities to provide greater safety for older CFVs. In addition, the Coast Guard will publish additional Voluntary Safety Guidelines by January 1, 2017, which offer suggested measures to increase CFV safety on older vessels. The Coast Guard will provide sufficient notice prior to resuming any future development of an ASCP.

As defined in the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 and the Coast Guard and Marine Transportation Act of 2012, an ASCP would pose requirements on older non-classed fishing vessels beyond those just recently published in a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on June 21, 2016. Moreover, an ASCP would itself be subject to a rulemaking effort. Therefore, the Coast Guard is developing an EOP by January 1, 2017.

The Coast Guard will engage the Commercial Fishing Safety Advisory Committee (CFSAC) and the fishing industry in the development of the EOP.

Coast Guard personnel will be available to meet with any fishing industry group, association, or representative to discuss and receive feedback on the safety guidelines and enhanced oversight program to be issued by January 2017. Please contact the Coast Guard Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance, Fishing Vessels Division (CG-CVC-3) at 202-372-1249 or by email at CGCVC@uscg.mil. You may also contact your local Coast Guard District Fishing Vessel Safety Coordinator or the local Coast Guard Sector Fishing Vessel Safety Examiner. The points of contact for these individuals can be found on the web site, http://www.fishsafe.info, at the “Locate Examiners” tab.

View MSIB 11-16 for full details.

This blog is not a replacement or substitute for the formal posting of regulations and updates or existing processes for receiving formal feedback of the same. Links provided on this blog will direct the reader to official source documents, such as the Federal Register, Homeport and the Code of Federal Regulations. These documents remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Coast Guard.