Coast Guard Rescues Ten Crab-Fishing Boats

The Coast Guard has towed at least ten commercial fishing boats across treacherous bars to safety in the Pacific Northwest at the start of the Dungeness crab season.

The start of the Dungeness crab season on Dec. 1 coincided with several bar restrictions due to hazardous conditions. When the Coast Guard issues a bar restriction recreational vessels are prohibited from crossing the bar. Commercial fishing vessels can cross the bar, however, if they follow a Coast Guard safety checklist and procedures.

At times the Coast Guard will escort commercial vessels back across the bar if they are caught outside in dangerous conditions.

Commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations in the U.S. At the start of this crab season Coast Guard crews from Grays Harbor and Cape Disappointment, Washington, and Coos Bay and Chetco River, Oregon, towed at least ten crab boats across bars to a safe harbor. The fishing vessels involved carried more than 100,000 pounds of Dungeness crab.

The Coast Guard picture at the top shows the Coast Guard responding to a disabled commercial fishing boat off Seaside, Oregon. You can see more in the Coast Guard video below.

If a commercial fishing boat wants to cross a restricted bar, the crew must notify the Coast Guard of the name of the boat, the number of people on board, the location, destination, any vessel limitations (steering, propulsion), and discuss escort options if necessary. The crew must ensure that all doors and hatches are secure and there is no loose gear on deck. After the ship crosses the bar, the captain must account for all the people on board and report the safe crossing back to the Coast Guard.

“Coast Guard rescue personnel continue to put in long hours working in hazardous conditions to ensure the safety of the commercial fishing fleet,” said Lt. Carl Eschler of the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Unit in Portland. “Although commercial fishing vessels are not prohibited from crossing a restricted bar, it should be noted that Coast Guard personnel stationed along the coast have used their professional maritime experience and knowledge of local environmental conditions to place restrictions on the bar by determining that unsafe conditions exist.”