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NATIONAL STRATEGY 226 agencies and trade or recreational associations to certify that landing areas meet established criteria for garbage reception facilities. Objective: Assure that boaters are provided with appropriate Annex V information and education Because implementation of Annex V depends heavily on responsible personal behavior, it is important that boaters receive the information needed to make the fight decisions. Existing communication channels, including signs, the recreational media, and radio, should be employed for this purpose. Annex V information should be distributed at boat races, fishing derbies, and other activities, including contacts with the Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service. This information also should be included as part of state boater registration processes and Coast Guard inspections. In addition, boaters should be encouraged to participate in beach cleanups. There is a particular need for education concerning the problems caused by improper disposal of monofilament fishing line. In addition, international channels should be created for distributing information about Annex V and compliance strategies. Effective strategies should be promoted and shared through racing associations and/or United Nations groups. International educational events should be sponsored for boaters. Boaters who undertake international voyages should be given Annex V information so they can inform foreign ports about their disposal needs. To support all these efforts, Coast Guard, Customs, state marine police, and other officials who interact with boaters should be trained in how to persuade boaters to comply with Annex V. Commercial Fisheries and Their Fleet Ports Objective: Achieve zero-discharge capability for fishing vessels that operate as day boats The vast majority of fishing vessels take day trips and should be able to refrain from discharging any garbage overboard. Although this objective is not reasonable for the minority of fishing vessels that take extended voyages, even they should be able to store most garbage on board for disposal in port. Objective: Provide adequate port reception facilities Port reception facilities in some remote areas are inadequate for receiving the garbage generated by fishing fleets. To encourage Annex V compliance by fisheries vessels, adequate garbage reception facilities should be provided at all fishing piers, not only for vessel-generated garbage and galley wastes but also for
NATIONAL STRATEGY 227 OBJECTIVES FOR COMMERCIAL FISHERIES ⢠Achieve zero-discharge capability for fishing vessels that operate as day boats ⢠Provide adequate port reception facilities ⢠Assure access to appropriate on-board garbage handling and treatment technologies ⢠Provide comprehensive vessel garbage management system ⢠Assure that seagoing and management personnel are provided with appropriate Annex V information, education, and training ⢠Improve Annex V enforcement ⢠Extend U.S. cooperation to encourage compliance by foreign-flag vessels debris caught in fishing nets. State authorities who regulate state-numbered fishing vessels should be engaged in establishing reception facilities. Objective: Assure access to appropriate on-board garbage handling and treatment technologies Fishing vessels that undertake extended voyages may require installation of garbage handling and treatment technologies in order to achieve compliance with Annex V. Special efforts should be mounted to demonstrate and foster adoption of technologies appropriate to vessel size and operations, in both new and existing vessels. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) should offer grants to foster development and installation of integrated waste management systems for fishing vessels. Objective: Provide comprehensive vessel garbage management system Beyond providing reception facilities and on-board technologies, it is important to strengthen the overall vessel garbage management system. Fishing ports (especially those in remoter areas) should be incorporated into the regional ISWMS. The NMFS should discourage abandonment of fishing gear, especially in heavily fished areas. In addition, a national system for recycling fishing gear should be developed based on successful existing pilot programs, and the system should be integrated into the chemical industry (which produces the materials used in nets and lines). Because this is a unique waste stream that has not been recycled on a wide scale previously, it may be helpful to offer financial incentives to encourage fishermen to return their gear. For example, industry or the NMFS could require deposits on all monofilament lines and nets. Fishermen could collect this money when returning their old gear; unclaimed deposits could be used to help defray costs of establishing the recycling system.
NATIONAL STRATEGY 228 Objective: Assure that seagoing and management personnel are provided with appropriate Annex V information, education, and training Due to the lack of direct regulatory oversight of the fisheries sector, it is important to encourage voluntary compliance through education. Existing channels, including the Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service, can be used for this purpose. Annex V information should be included in processes for fishing license renewal and boat registration, and marine debris issues should be raised at regional fisheries forums. In addition, while most fishing vessels are uninspected, the Coast Guard's voluntary examination program should be exploited as an avenue for distributing Annex V information. New approaches for distributing information also should be devised. Newsletters soliciting innovative educational and technological ideas should be developed and disseminated throughout the fisheries community, as is done in the agricultural population. In addition, because fishing is often a family business, families should be educated as a means of influencing their seagoing members. Educational efforts should address, among other things, opportunities for recycling and uses for recycled plastics and other materials. Reports on gear lost in the oceans should be circulated to persuade fishermen of the potential reduction in fish stocks caused by ghost fishing. Objective: Improve Annex V enforcement The fisheries fleet is the one maritime sector where routine enforcement is needed and can be cost effective in assuring Annex V compliance. Where appropriate and feasible, fisheries observers should be enlisted to monitor garbage disposal practices. In addition, fishing nets could be labeled or imprinted with the name of the vessel using them, so vessel operators that lose or discard nets could be identified. Although it would be difficult to distinguish between illegal discards and accidental losses, the NMFS could keep track of the identifications on recovered nets and use the information to identify fisheries where special educational, monitoring, and possibly enforcement efforts are needed. Fisheries councils also should require reporting of lost gear, both to collect information on this problem and to identify where additional measures to prevent such losses are needed. The IMO guidelines for Annex V implementation recommend that such records be kept and encourage development and deployment of such measures. Objective: Extend U.S. cooperation to encourage compliance by foreign- flag vessels Because garbage discharged outside U.S. waters can drift toward the coast, it is important to consider means of fostering Annex V implementation by foreign
