A boarding team from Coast Guard Cutter Midgett, a 378-foot High Endurance Cutter homeported in Seattle, inspects the fishing vessel Bambi during a patrol off the coasts of Washington and Oregon, Oct. 18, 2015. The inspection, in which no violations were found, came three days after the Coast Guard’s commercial fishing vessel program began requiring that all commercial fishing vessels that operate beyond three miles of the territorial sea baseline are required to get a dockside examination prior to fishing season. U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Coast Guard Cutter Midgett.
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Midgett, a 378-foot High Endurance Cutter homeported in Seattle, conducts a living marine resources patrol off the coasts of Washington and Oregon, Oct. 18, 2015. The patrol served as part of the Coast Guard’s ongoing LMR mission, in which Coast Guard assets protect and preserve our living marine resource by projecting a U.S. law enforcement presence throughout the Exclusive Economic Zone and other key areas of the high seas. U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Coast Guard Cutter Midgett.
Seaman Cody DeGracia puts on an immersion suit during training aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Midgett, a 378-foot High Endurance Cutter homeported in Seattle, while on a Living Marine Resources patrol off the coasts of Washington and Oregon Oct. 9, 2015. Immersion suits are one of the required items as part of the now mandatory Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety program dockside examinations, designed to significantly improve survival time in cold water as hypothermia is a major factor in lives lost at sea. U.S Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Levi Read.
SEATTLE — The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Midgett, a 378-foot High Endurance Cutter homeported in Seattle, completed a two-week living marine resources patrol, today.
The patrol was designed to establish a presence throughout the Washington and Oregon fishing fleets, educate commercial fishermen and enforce fishing regulations.
“The efforts of Coast Guard Cutter Midgett exemplified the 13th district vision of protecting the great Pacific Northwest,” said Brian Corrigan, the living marine resources coordinator at Coast Guard 13th District in Seattle. “The living marine resources enforcement ensured a level playing field for participants in our extremely valuable and complexly managed commercial fisheries, particularly when performed in conjunction with our valued enforcement partners and is among the highest priorities of the 13th district."
The crew conducted eight at-sea boardings during the patrol, which resulted in the documentation of two suspected living marine resource violations and eight commercial fishing vessel safety violations.
On October 15, the CFVS program implemented mandatory dockside examinations for all commercial fishing vessels operating beyond the 3-mile territorial sea baseline. Boarding team members ensured compliance with the new regulations and explained the procedures for completing a mandatory dockside examination.
The crew hosted a rider from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, an instructor from the Coast Guard’s Pacific Region Fisheries Training Center, and shared information with the NOAA West Coast Region Office of Law Enforcement and the Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division throughout their patrol.
Other Coast Guard units who assisted Midgett's crew in their mission include Air Station Port Angeles, Air Station Astoria, Oregon, Air Station North Bend, Oregon, and Air Station Sacramento, California.