Gloucester fishermen and their contemporaries across the nation, following years of uncertainty, finally caught a break in the new federal law regulating incidental deck discharges from fishing vessels.
"It's been a ticking time bomb for the entire fishing industry in the U.S. This is such a game-changer." — Vito Giacalone, policy director for the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition.
A provision within the new Vessel Incidental Discharge Act, signed into law last week by President Donald Trump as part of an omnibus Coast Guard bill, exempts commercial fishing vessels of all sizes and other vessels up to 79 feet in length from having to obtain a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency to cover incidental deck wash.
“Specifically, discharges incidental to the normal operation, except for ballast water, from small vessels (i.e., less than 79 feet in length) and commercial fishing vessels of all sizes no longer require National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit coverage,” the EPA said in its statement about the new law. “Thus, permit coverage for any vessel covered under the (Small Vessel General Permit) is automatically terminated.”