Help Save California Sportfishing!

I have an important announcement, and I need your help! You see, the California Air Resource Board (CARB) has proposed a new and virtually unattainable metric for all harbor craft boat engines. The new rules make it especially tasking to the small family-run sportfishing/whale watching boat owners. How bad is it? Well, so bad that if passed, most will go out of business! So I need your help! Would you please sign the form below, so we can help save California sportfishing?

What is a Commercial Habor Craft Vessel?

According to LawInsider.com, a commercial harbor craft means any private, commercial, government, or military marine vessel including but not limited to:

• passenger ferries
• tugboats
• towboats
• push-boats
• crew vessels
• work boats
• pilot vessels
• supply boats
• research vessels
• United State Coast Guard vessels
• hovercraft
• emergency response harbor crafts
• barge vessels that do not otherwise meet the definition of ocean-going vessels
• recreational vessels

What is a Tier 4 Engine?

Quoting from the Calmaritme study provided down below-“Tier 4 marine engines are generally originally equipped with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems, but no diesel particulate filter (DPF).

(Please see the links below for a better understanding, as I know next to nothing about any engine.)

To put it in the easiest terms possible-  The State has mandated new fuel and air quality standards that all harbor craft vessels must implement before 2023. Usually, you would think the State would allot more time, but here we are. As if the pandemic didn’t cause enough chaos to the industry already.

Now family-owned fishing and whale watching charter boats are being asked to redesign or replace existing engines. The kicker is that these types of engines do not even exist at this time. And to add my insult to injury, the report below states that modifications of the engines would significantly impact the boat’s stability.

And not only that, due to the increased weight of the engine, customer load would be decreased to compensate for the added weight by 8 to 30 persons depending on the technology used.

Fewer people add to less revenue or an increased cost passed onto the public. Either way, economically, it does not look good.

—>Cal Maritime- Evaluation of the Feasibility and Costs of Installing Tier 4 Engines and Retrofit Exhaust Aftertreatment on In-Use Commerical Harbor Craft<—

Please Help Save California Sportfishing!

Down below are several resources if you would like to look further into this situation. I am not afraid to say that I am not an engineer, so reading over some of this material is way over my head.

Thank You!

Resources

• State Regulations Will Sink Family-Owned Sportfishing Boats
• New Engine requirements for sportfishing boats have some owners worried
• The California Air Resources Board
• Final Rule-EPA’s Amendments Related to Marine Diesel Engine Emissions Standards
• List of All San Diego Sportfishing Party Boats