![](https://californiaglobe.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/external-content.duckduckgo-6.png)
Whale watching. (Photo: Pinterest.com)
Sportfishing and Boating Groups Rush to Stop New Harbor Craft Emissions Standards
If passed, CA Air Resources Board could force most non-compliant boats out of use as early as 2023
By Evan Symon, November 4, 2021 2:36 am
A coalition that includes the Sportfishing Association of California (SAC), the Golden Gate Fisherman’s Association (GGFA), and a number of other sportfishing, boating, outdoor retailer, and marine groups and organization warned in a letter to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on Wednesday that new harbor craft engine emission regulations would have disastrous economic, social, and leisure repercussions round the state.
Due to pressure from Governor Gavin Newsom’s office and other state organizations to crack down on emissions in the same spirit as the new gas-powered car ban by 2035 law signed last year and the ban on new small engine gas powered machines by 2024 law passed earlier this year, the California Air Resources Board decided to go after emissions coming from boats. In the new Proposed Amendments to the Commercial Harbor Craft Regulation language, the state would require all boat engines to be modified with technology to cut back on emissions. However, CARB found that the needed modifications either don’t exist yet, and even if built or would be too big to safely fit on most boats, necessitating the building or purchasing of new boats that are or can be compliant.
Faced with few options, those who can’t afford the changes or new boats by, at the earliest, January 2023, will be essentially go out of business.
In response to the proposed changes, expected by a vote by CARB on November 19th, the joint letter noted how bad it could be for California. In particular, the letter noted that, despite California being last among states in the number of fishermen per capita and seeing fishing license sales decline by 50% since the 1980’s, sport fishing has been back on the rise, with the state reporting a 19% bump in fishing licenses from 2019 to 2020. They also noted a diversification of those getting licenses, with women, Hispanics, and African-Americans being among the fastest growing groups, hinting at continued growth in the future.
With the increased sales on hunting and fishing licenses helping fund the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and the rebound of the post-pandemic tourism industry, which includes whale watching boat trips, fishing charters, and other boat related activities, the groups in the letter argue that the new regulations would undo all of these recent gains and spiral many businesses to close permanently. As anglers alone bring in $5.6 billion annually to the economy of California, even a dent in the sector could prove to be disastrous.
A huge CARB vote expected on November 19th
“Economically, we’re looking at tourism and leisure associated with sport fishing and other activities that take place on these boats like whale watching and moving people on short trips, like to islands just off the coast,” said Roberta Gregg, a fisherwoman who became a lobbyist for multiple related industries, to the Globe on Wednesday. “That’s a lot of businesses, some of them iconic to California, that could be facing the chopping block. And that’s just economically.
“Socially, it would ruin the diversification the industry, traditionally more white and Asian, that is currently happening. Many people have been saying for decades to help bring people of all races and creeds and genders closer together, and the fishing industry has been doing that organically for some time now. And we can’t forget ecologically, as a lot of those fish stock programs to help keep the populations growing in California have been funded by the very people fishing them. You kill the fishing industry, you really harm fish stock programs.”
Others concurred with the massive consequences that would likely happen, including Sportfishing Association of California president Ken Franke.
“CARB’s regulations will have the unintended consequence of denying millions of Californians access to the sea as commercial passenger boat owners go out of business,” explained Franke in a press release on Wednesday. “CARB fails to recognize that passenger boats are a valued source of outdoor recreation and economic activity in California. For most Californians, these boats are their only access to offshore sportfishing and marine life.
“Additionally, CARB failed to consult with the CDFW to determine what impact declining fishing participation rates could have on conservation and fishery programs, both offshore and inland. Both fishing license sales and a federal excise tax on fishing tackle and boat fuel fund many of CDFW’s environmental programs with the Federal Government matching $3 for every state dollar contributed.
“When California’s 2 million anglers fish off one of the Nation’s longest coastlines, they buy fishing licenses that fund conservation and fishery programs that protect local habitat. Unfortunately, CARB did not evaluate the environmental and economic impact of regulations that will have a devastating impact on sportfishing and eco-tourism all along California’s coast.”
In addition, the letter to CARB also pointed out that many hospitality and tourism jobs would either be lost or reduced if the regulation is passed, going directly against Governor Gavin Newsom’s priority to restore jobs lost during the pandemic.
Public comment period on the proposed new regulations is to end on November 15th, With CARB expected to vote on the issue on November 19th.
- VP Harris Builds Gap Against Former President Trump According To Latest CA Presidential Election Poll - August 14, 2024
- Bill to Give Early Release To Prisoners Serving Life w/o Parole Back in CA Legislature - August 14, 2024
- Gov. Gavin Newsom Pushes for Cell Phone Restrictions In Schools - August 13, 2024
C’mon – Newsom just wants to return us to the halcyon days of yore when the fishing boats were OAR-POWERED…
Think of the GREAT WORKOUT the fisherpeople (not men – this is Woke California) will get as they ROW their fishing boats out to sea !!! And the sightseeing expeditions – just change the marketing message – ROW ROW ROW OUR BOAT, GENTLY OUT TO SEA!!!
But seriously, folks, Newsom has his head screwed so far up his butt – his Chinese funders are the biggest polluters on the planet, and Newsom wants them to expand their electric battery business to power his wet-dream of everyone in an electric car, but what are we to do with all those batteries when they wear out??? And what do we CHARGE those batteries with if we decommission all the natural gas power plants??? The sun doesn’t shine at night and the wind blows when it wants to, and this jackass expects the entire state to be dependent upon “renewable energy sources” in the next decade or so???
COMPLETE lack of logic… and diktat by emotion-driven fiat….
You people up in San Franfreakshow are certainly a delusional, ambitious bunch, aren’t’ ya???
Conservatives are so easily triggered. This site is hilarious. PLEASE get out of California. Move to mississippi where you belong.
You first, “Mr. Smart.”
P.S. Do you guys ever have an original thought?
You first, A-hole….
More ridiculous nonsense that destroys California from CARB. Gee, what a surprise. How about taking a really really really long break, un-elected bureaucrats? No one will miss you. Or how about doing something productive for a change? Maybe you could all get jobs; you know, jobs? work? You obviously have too much time on your hands. But then again, who would hire you?
I stopped buying Calif. fishing and hunting licensed nearly 10 yrs ago because of all the ‘rules/regulation aka ‘laws’ that were put in the regulation booklet by environmentalists that have embedded themselves in the once great F&G dept. Since those types usually come from some college (uc-davis comes to mind) they usually demand a big paycheck from the state. Hence the fees are passed onto the sportsman/consumer. Had enough a long time ago.
It sounds like it would apply to sailboats with auxiliary engines too.
Of course, who really wants to eat Eastern Pacific sport-fish anyways, when our lying government whitewashes the radioactive buildup in tuna as reported by NOAA … these are the same government hacks that have inflated Covid-19 numbers to induce fear into the populace and soften them up to willingly take the poison clot-shots…
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/science-data/fukushima-radiation-us-west-coast-tuna
When I go to the harbor, it’s not boat pollution that is a health threat. It is marijuana smoke pollution from the potheads. THC in marijuana smoke is a neurotoxin. I want to know what CARB is going do about that.