COMMANDANT INSTRUCTION 16214.3
Placards, videos and other material are available from shipping agents, port authorities,
port pilots, and USCG. Please report all struck, dead or entangled whales immediately
to USCG on VHF Channel 16. Be advised that whales may or may not remain at
reported locations for extended periods. Surveys do not detect all whales and are not
flown in poor weather. Whales, including other whale species, may occur at unreported
locations Whales were sighted at:
[xxxx]N, [xxxxx]W @ [xxxx]h, [date]
[xxxx]N, [xxxxx]W @ [xxxx]h, [date]
13. COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT. Shipboard interviews and data analysis will be
used to measure compliance with the MSR. Marine Safety personnel will conduct interviews
during all regularly scheduled Port State Control boardings and U.S. flag vessel inspections.
Interviews will be conducted on vessels meeting the reporting requirements in the ports of
Boston, MA; Brunswick, GA; Jacksonville/Mayport, FL; and the ports located at St. Mary's
entrance and within the Cumberland Sound including Fernandina Beach, St. Mary's, and Kings
Bay. Interviews shall be conducted year-round in Boston and from 15 November to 15 April
for ports in the southeast reporting area. Interviews should be used as an educational tool to
inform vessels about the MSR and the established reporting procedures. If a vessel is found to
have not reported into the MSR, no immediate actions will be taken against the vessel (e.g.,
CG-835's) until further guidance is issued by Commandant (G-MW). Any discrepancies found
shall be forwarded to Headquarters in the weekly interview report. No civil penalties will be
assessed if satisfactory compliance with the reporting requirements is attained. It is important
whale ship strikes by educating merchant mariners about the problem. The interview process
will build on the educational efforts already in place. In addition to interviews, compliance
with the MSR will be analyzed through comparison of the database and the Advance Notice of
Arrival data. These sources will indicate which ships pulled into ports and which ships
reported into the MSR. Vessels failing to report into the MSR will be issued a letter from the
NMFS explaining the MSR and the requirement to comply.
14. RESPONSIBILITIES. Successful operation of the MSR will require the cooperative effort of
the offices of Marine Safety and Environmental Protection, Operations, and Communications.
Required actions are as follows:
a.
Commandant (G-MW) shall issue further guidance on enforcement if compliance rates are
not satisfactory.
b.
Commandant (G-MOC) shall:
(1)
Collect weekly vessel interview reports and provide report data to Commandant (G-
OPL) for compliance analysis.
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