Anti-terror efforts straining Coast Guard

AUGUSTA – The extraordinary security the Coast Guard has been providing at the nation’s ports has stretched resources and reduced enforcement of fisheries laws down to “close to zero,” according to the commandant of the Coast Guard, Adm. James Loy. Those reductions in traditional Coast Guard missions have members of Maine’s maritime community worried and members of the state’s congressional delegation concerned.

“I think we need a sort of fisheries and oceans summit so we can get ahead of the curve on this,” said Mark Lapping, a University of Southern Maine professor at the Muskie School for Public Policy. “It’s clear there will be an emphasis on security for, I think, quite a long time, so we need to look at what is not going to be done by the Coast Guard and what might be done by other agencies.”

Lapping said that in the short term, he believes most fishermen will follow the law, even without enforcement action by federal or state agencies. Professor Guillermo Herrera of Bowdoin College has studied the economics of the fisheries industry and agrees with Lapping.

“In the lobster industry there is a lot of self-enforcement, but the longer this goes on, there will be erosion of that,” he said. “There could be an impact in an industry like ground fish, which is showing signs now of recovery. But if that government enforcement effort goes away at this critical point, there certainly could be an impact on the recovery.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has started to use its aircraft to help enforce fishing regulations, but flyovers of boats at sea are no substitute for dockside inspections.

“You’ve got to have enforcement at the docks,” said Maine Marine Patrol Col. Joesph Fessenden. “That is how we are enforcing the state laws.”

Fessenden said his officers have been helping fulfill some of the Coast Guard functions, including security. For example, Marine Patrol officers are providing on-the-river security at Bath Iron Works.

“And we have helped on fisheries enforcement where we can,” he said.

Last week, Marine Patrol officers assisted in intercepting a Massachusetts-based vessel that was fishing in a closed area about eight miles off Cape Elizabeth. But, Fessenden said, the Marine Patrol simply does not have the equipment or manpower to conduct enforcement patrols in the Gulf of Maine.

“There are discussions about the states doing more enforcement of federal laws,” Fessenden said. “I think there is more we can do, but not without the resources.”

Maine is negotiating an agreement with the National Marine Fisheries Service to enforce some federal regulations, but the $400,000 available this year will not go very far. With all its inlets and bays, Maine’s coastline totals more than 3,600 miles. Marine Patrol has only 45 officers to patrol all those inlets and bays when it has a full staff. And Fessenden said that about a quarter of those positions are vacant right now.

“Maybe they can expand this program to allow us to pick up more of the enforcement effort,” he said. “If we are enforcing our laws, we should be able to enforce the federal laws at the same time.”

U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine is the ranking GOP member of the Senate Commerce Committee, which has oversight over the Coast Guard. She said while security has to be the principal concern, the traditional roles the Coast Guard provides will still need to be filled in some way.

“Clearly, unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures, and that means we need to identify the weaknesses and implement a strategy to give us a Coast Guard that reflects the realities of the 21st century,” she said.

U.S. Rep. John Baldacci agrees. The Maine Democrat said there is funding for security costs being incurred by the Coast Guard, but other issues need to be addressed.

“It may be the states will have to take on some of these traditional roles of the Coast Guard,” he said. “I think there is some recognition of that in the proposals before Congress that would provide more money to the states over and above homeland security costs.”

Loy testified during a hearing earlier this month that the increased security efforts of the Coast Guard have reduced patrols to intercept drug smuggling by 75 percent. Coast Guard efforts to curb illegal immigration have similarly dwindled.

One-third of all the Coast Guard reservists have been called to active duty, to help provide the additional security.

In addition to helping the Navy provide harbor security for facilities such as the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, there are extra security efforts at many harbors. Instead of vessels having to provide 24-hour notice before entering a harbor, they are now required to provide 96 hours notice along with a manifest for cargo, crew and passengers. Some ships are escorted into harbor, and some are boarded and inspected before they are allowed to enter a harbor.

But even prior to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, there were concerns about the ability of the Coast Guard to meet its search and rescue mission. In a harshly worded report released last month, the inspector general of the Department of Transportation concluded that the “readiness of the Coast Guard’s SAR [search and rescue] stations continue[s] to deteriorate” and criticized Coast Guard policies.

Professor Dan Townsend, director of the School of Marine Resources at the University of Maine, said reports of problems with search and rescue missions are of greater concern than lack of enforcement of fisheries rules.

“I am more concerned about the ability of the Coast Guard to react to search and rescue. We are coming into a time of the year where we have some serious storms,” he said. “Fishing is the most dangerous occupation in the world and more people are killed fishing than in any other occupation. The Coast Guard has been trying to improve that. And my concerns are those you can get from anyone who lives on the Maine coast, not a professor of oceanography.”

Loy told Snowe at the hearing earlier this month that search and rescue capabilities had not been reduced as a result of security needs. He also said many of the deficiencies cited by the inspector general had been addressed.

Fessenden said he believes the Coast Guard has maintained its search and rescue capabilities, but he is concerned other safety related activities will suffer as security needs are given first priority.

“We have a meeting this week with just about everybody involved and we are looking at what the state role should be in safety,” he said.

Fessenden said the meeting has been planned for months as a result of concerns about safety issues in the fishing industry.