OK, so you don’t like some of the edicts from the Coast Guard telling you what you need on your boat to meet safety standards, and — as all your buddies know and are tired of hearing — you’ve done plenty of complaining about them lately; or maybe you think there are some areas requiring tougher laws. For one, you’d like to see more stringent standards regarding training.
Either way, here’s a chance to stop complaining and help make some changes. The Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Advisory Committee, which provides advice and makes recommendations to the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security regarding the operation of commercial fishing boats, is looking for applicants to fill six positions that will become available in May 2016.
You will have to go to at least one meeting a year. This year’s meeting just concluded in Seattle. The issue discussed included the Alternate Compliance Program, survival craft issues, mandatory exams and training. You’ll also be on a committee requiring you to communicate with other members of the committee.
You will be signing up for a three-year term with no more than two terms served consecutively. There’s no pay for being on the committee but you will get reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses.
Four of the six positions are open to people from the commercial fishing industry; one is open to someone from the general public familiar with the fishing industry, and the sixth is for a naval architect and marine engineer with knowledge of fishing boats and fishing communities.
You will need to send a cover letter to Jack Kemerer, chief of the Coast Guard’s Fishing Vessel Safety Division. Included should be “a resume and a discussion about why they think they should be appointed and their experience,” says Kemerer. The application needs to be completed before Nov. 17, 2015 according to the announcement in the Federal Register.