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Deadline pushed back for tracking fishing vessels

By STEPHEN NOHLGREN
Published November 16, 2006

GALVESTON, Texas - Commercial fishermen in Florida will get a 90-day reprieve from an order to install a controversial tracking device that can pinpoint their location far out into the Gulf of Mexico.

The digital device, called a "vessel monitoring system," bounces a signal off satellites and is designed to alert authorities when a boat is fishing in forbidden waters. It also allows fishing police to check for undersized and out-of-season fish by meeting boats when they return to the dock.

Federal regulators had ordered fishermen to install the devices by Dec. 7, but Wednesday the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council pushed the deadline back to March 7. The postponement came after several fishermen complained they needed more time to buy the devices and arrange for installation by certified vendors.

Many fishermen who target grouper and other bottom fish are part-timers with small boats that they keep on trailers next to their homes, Martin Fischer of the Fishermen's Advocacy Organization told the council.

Because the devices must operate 24 hours a day, fishermen will have to install antennae on their garages to send out a clear signal, Fischer said. They also need to enclose parts of their boats to keep the device's computer keyboard dry.

In October, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced it would reimburse fishermen for the cost of the devices. But fishermen still must pay monitoring fees of $40 to $50 a month and shoulder repair costs, said William Ward of the Gulf Fishermen's Association. Ward's organization has sued the government in federal court alleging that the devices violate fishermen's constitutional rights to privacy.

They are offensive, he told the council, because most fishermen have not broken any fishing regulations. Ward unsuccessfully urged the council to suspend the tracking requirement altogether, comparing the devices to ankle bracelets that convicted criminals sometimes wear on parole.

[Last modified November 16, 2006, 00:11:47]