A REVIEW OF AN "AT THE DOCK" STABILITY & POT LOADING SURVEY

The Bering Sea Crab fisheries are among the most prominent in the U.S. and the most dangerous, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Despite efforts by the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council to limit effort in all the Bering Sea Crab fisheries, the fleet is overcapitalized. As a result of overcapitalization and the tremendous catching power present among registered vessels, the fishing seasons are usually very short. This relationship between catching power, limited resources, and short seasons has resulted in a race to fish. A number of factors such as declines in crab stocks, closures and likely closures of several major crab fisheries, and a 33% increase in price of crab, have created a potentially dangerous safety situation in which vessels will likely overload vessels with crab pots and fish without rest in what watermen view as a make or break it season. This article describes an Action Plan developed by the U.S. 13th Coast Guard district aimed at minimizing these aforementioned dangers to Bering Sea crabbers.