Coast Guard reinstates Coastal Beacon security plan

PORTLAND – The Coast Guard, following discussions with Sen. Olympia Snowe, has decided to go forward with a program that enlists Maine fishermen for homeland security patrols.

An official said last week that the new Coastal Beacon program would be halted, but the Coast Guard announced Wednesday that its implementation will continue.

Fishermen will register under their vessels’ names, rather than their own names, to alleviate concerns about possible violations of federal privacy laws, said Lt. Dean Jones, a regional Coast Guard spokesman in Boston.

Snowe, R-Maine, said she has been working with the Coast Guard since last weekend to ensure the program’s survival.

“This innovative program can make use of hundreds of fishermen along Maine’s coast to help patrol remote areas of the coast, serving as the Coast Guard’s eyes and ears,” she said.

Snowe had earlier expressed disappointment that bureaucratic and legal red tape might cause the demise of a program that was hailed as a model for other regions when it was announced in February.

The idea behind Coastal Beacons is that screening and registering participants will allow the Coast Guard to better manage a system that has long been informal.

A telephone hot line is already available for fishermen and other observers to report suspicious movements on the water, but officials must investigate calls for possible hoaxes.

Fishermen who participate in the new program will have to submit to background checks and allow their boats to be inspected.

Maine fishermen remain a valuable resource in the Coast Guard’s homeland security mission, Jones said.

“We’ve never told the fishermen we didn’t want their help,” he said. “The commercial fishermen of Maine are on the water more than anyone else. And a lot of them have been on those waters for 20, 30 years.”

He said fishermen could now sign up for the program, and Coast Guard officials soon will begin visiting those who express interest. The program will be operational by August, Jones said.

Fishermen in Maine who want to join or get more information on the Coastal Beacon program should call 1 (800) 410-9549.