Attachment_23-Safety_Deficiency_Report.pdf

OMB Control No.: 0648-0593 Expires on: 10/31/2018

SECTION J

DATE:______________________

To whom it may concern:

The F/V _____________________, official number or state vessel license number ________________, has been selected on _____________ to carry a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) certified observer, but has been deemed inadequate or unsafe to carry an observer due to the following conditions.

____ The vessel does not have a current United States Coast Guard (USCG) Commercial Fishing Vessel

Safety Examination (CFVSE) decal or written exemption from the decal requirement.

____ The Vessel does not have one or more of the following safety devices currently inspected, in working order, and in sufficient quantity:

____ (1) Personal floatation devices/immersion suits;

____ (2) Ring buoys or other allowable floatation;

____ (3) Distress signals;

____ (4) Fire extinguishing equipment, when required;

____ (5) Emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB), when required; and

____ (6) Survival craft, when required, with sufficient capacity to accommodate the total number of persons, including the observer(s), that will embark on the voyage.

Because this vessel has been selected to carry an observer on its next fishing trip, it is illegal for this vessel to engage in the following fishing activity without an observer on board.

1) Any Category I or II fishery currently listed under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

2) Any federally permitted fishery in the Northeast region listed in 50 C.F.R. Sections 648.11(a) and

697.12. Currently, those species are Atlantic Sea Scallops, Northeast Multispecies, Monkfish, Skates, Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, Butterfish, Scup, Black Sea Bass, Bluefish, Spiny Dogfish, Atlantic Herring, Tilefish, Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab, Summer Flounder (moratorium permit), American Lobster, Atlantic Surfclam, and Ocean Quahog.

An observer cannot depart on this vessel until the safety deficiencies identified above have been corrected.

The owners and operators of vessels fishing in one of the fisheries listed above without carrying an observer or receiving a waiver to carry an observer may be subject to enforcement actions, which could include seizure and forfeiture of the vessel’s catch, civil monetary penalties, and permit sanctions. Once the corrective measure(s) have been complete, please contact Sara Weeks for Northeast Vessels at (508) 642-6005 and Mike Tork for Mid-Atlantic Vessels at (508) 495-2339; (508) 274-4859.

Sincerely, John K. Bullard Tim Donovan Regional Administrator Acting Assistant Director, Northeast Enforcement Division NOAA Office of Law Enforcement

Attachment 23

EA133F-17-RP-1824