COMDTINST 16711.14
3.
(cont'd) Fishing vessel safety is a Coast Guard-wide program
directly extending to the Offices of Marine Safety, Security
and Environmental Protection (G-M): Navigation Safety and
Waterway Services (G-N); Law Enforcement and Defense
Operations (G-O), and Readiness and Reserve (G-R).
Commandant (G-MVI), as program manager, was specifically
tasked with policy and guidance development.
4.
DISCUSSION.
a.
As previously stated, the intent of the commercial
fishing vessel regulations is to reduce fishing vessel
losses and fatalities. The voluntary dockside
examination program works towards this goal by providing
compliance verification services in a non-adversarial
manner, similar to the Coast Guard Auxiliary Courtesy
Marine Examination (CME) Program. These dockside exams
also seek to educate owners and operators of commercial
fishing vessels as to the meaning and intent of the new
regulations. Informed and knowledgeable fishermen,
boarding officers and dockside examiners are vital to the
success of the Coast Guard's fishing vessel safety and
dockside examination programs.
b.
In order for the regulations to have a meaningful impact,
the voluntary dockside examination program and
educational effort must be coupled with credible
enforcement. This aspect is currently addressed with
at-sea boardings which are conducted solely in
conjunction with search and rescue and law enforcement
missions. These boardings are normally limited in scope
with respect to the fishing vessel safety regulations.
c.
This Instruction establishes the training and
qualification process for individuals performing dockside
examinations, or conducting at-sea boardings of
commercial fishing industry vessels. This training is
intended to provide the examiner and boarding officer
with additional technical skills and specific knowledge
of current policies, regulations, and implementation.
The qualification process will provide a mechanism to
ensure that boarding officers and examiners participating
in the fishing vessel safety program are fully qualified.
d.
The commercial fishing industry vessel safety program
will continue to evolve, as will training provided to
individuals participating in the program. The Maritime
Law Enforcement (MLE) course at Reserve Training Center
(RTC) Yorktown, has incorporated fishing vessel safety
regulations instruction in their curricula. Also, steps
have been taken to develop course curricula for
incorporation into the Marine Safety Inspection
Department (IDC) course. Initial steps have also been
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