Electronic navigational chart systems with accurate data can help fishermen reduce groundings by up to 80 percent. Modernizing NOAA's navigational services will reduce fishing gear damage and loss from accidents. Modern navigational services will also help hazardous cargo carriers avoid spills which often close valuable fisheries.
-- Alarmed by increasing incidences of loss of life and property, Congress passed in 1988 the
Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Act, requiring all fishing vessels on the high seas to
carry nautical charts and a full set of navigational equipment.
-- Commercial fishing is a major national industry. In 1992, about 9.6 billion pounds of fish, valued at about $3.7 billion, were landed at U.S. ports. Today, commercial fishing operations employ over 364,000 people and supply thousands of supermarkets, specialty stores, and restaurants throughout the country.
Many fishing accidents are caused by human error and occur in remote areas that are poorly charted. Electronic chart systems with accurate data can help fishermen reduce groundings by 80 percent. Besides making navigation safer for commercial fishermen, modernizing NOAA's navigational services will increase their operational efficiency by reducing gear damage and losses from accidents, and will boost their productivity by facilitating their search for fishing grounds.
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Fishing
Regulations
Local Notice to Mariners
U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers Navigation Data Center
U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers Navigation Information Connection
Interactive Marine Observations
Marine
Weather
Smart Forum
U.S. Coast Guard
U.S. Coast Guard Marine
Safety
and Environmental Protection
Coast Guard Approved Schools and
Courses
U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center
National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS)
National Transportation Safety Board
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA)
Listing of Marine Web Sites
Listing of Maritime Companies
Listing of Cargo Port Links
