Coast Guard: Additional Actions Needed to Improve Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Efforts
Fast Facts
To improve safety in the extremely dangerous commercial fishing industry, Coast Guard examines fishing vessels' documents and safety equipment, and conducts outreach to fishers, among other efforts.
But, Coast Guard hasn't fully implemented 17 of 22 statutory requirements to improve commercial fishing vessel safety. For example, Coast Guard hasn't developed a training program for commercial fishers or re-established an advisory committee on industry safety issues. In addition, Coast Guard doesn't have a detailed plan to guide their efforts to fully implement the outstanding statutory requirements.
Our recommendations address this and more.
Highlights
What GAO Found
Coast Guard efforts to promote commercial fishing vessel safety include conducting dockside exams, engaging with industry, and collaborating with other federal agencies. A dockside exam includes a review of a vessel's documents and safety equipment. Vessels that successfully complete an exam receive a 2-year safety decal from the Coast Guard. In addition, the agency engages with industry through safety trainings and policy letters, among other efforts. The Coast Guard also collaborates with other federal agencies, such as the National Marine Fisheries Service, by sharing accident data and supporting vessel safety research.
Commercial Fishing Vessels in Newport, Oregon
The Coast Guard fully implemented five of 22 key statutory requirements related to various aspects of commercial fishing vessel safety (e.g., equipment, training, exams) enacted from fiscal years 2011 through 2021. However, it has either partially or not implemented 17 requirements. One requirement that the Coast Guard does not intend to implement is to develop alternate safety standards for older fishing vessels, which account for almost 80 percent of fishing vessel losses. The Coast Guard stated it does not have the authority to address the requirement to develop alternate safety standards for older fishing vessels. However, based on GAO's review of the applicable statutory provisions, the Coast Guard does have the authority to implement this requirement. In June 2016, the Coast Guard issued a proposed rule intended to address nine of the other 16 outstanding requirements. However, as of August 2022, the rule had not been finalized, and the Coast Guard had no detailed plan for implementing these requirements. Developing and implementing alternate safety standards for older vessels and developing a plan with time frames for implementing the other 16 requirements would help to address the Coast Guard's statutory responsibilities and support efforts to prevent fishing vessel losses and related fatalities.
The Coast Guard has established strategic goals and performance goals for its commercial fishing vessel safety program. However, it has not fully incorporated other key performance management practices, such as establishing performance goals that fully address all aspects of its strategic goals, setting realistic targets for its performance goals, and using performance data to assess progress towards program goals. Fully incorporating such practices could help the Coast Guard better assess program performance and address any performance issues.
Why GAO Did This Study
Commercial fishing has one of the highest industry death rates in the U.S., according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since fiscal year 2011, multiple commercial fishing vessel safety requirements have been enacted. As the principal federal agency for ensuring marine safety, the U.S. Coast Guard is responsible for implementing statutory requirements related to fishing vessel safety.
GAO reviewed the Coast Guard's commercial fishing vessel safety efforts as a follow-on to other GAO work to address a provision in statute. This report examines Coast Guard efforts to (1) improve commercial fishing vessel safety; (2) implement related key statutory requirements enacted from fiscal years 2011 through 2021; and (3) incorporate key performance assessment steps for its commercial fishing vessel safety program.
To address these objectives, GAO reviewed relevant laws, as well as Coast Guard documentation and data on its efforts to improve fishing vessel safety. GAO also observed vessel exams, and interviewed Coast Guard headquarters and field-based officials.
Recommendations
GAO is making six recommendations to the Coast Guard, including to implement alternate safety standards for older vessels, develop a plan with time frames to implement the other outstanding statutory requirements, and fully incorporate key performance management practices. DHS concurred with five of six recommendations. GAO maintains that the findings in the report support all of the recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| United States Coast Guard | The Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure that the Fishing Vessel Safety Division, in coordination with the Office of Maritime Law Enforcement, clarifies and documents the agency's policy on the enforcement of the dockside exam requirement during at-sea boardings of commercial fishing vessels. (Recommendation 1) |
In early May 2023, Coast Guard officials reported that the Fishing Vessel Safety Division was working with the Office of Maritime Law Enforcement to clarify and update program direction to field units related to the enforcement of the dockside exam requirement during at-sea boardings of commercial fishing vessels. The Coast Guard then finalized and issued a policy letter containing guidance on the enforcement of the exam requirement during at-sea boardings in late May 2023. As a result, we consider this recommendation closed and implemented.
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| United States Coast Guard | The Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure that the Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy develops and implements an alternate safety compliance program, as required by law. (Recommendation 2) |
In November 2022, we reported that the Coast Guard did not intend to implement the statutory requirement to establish an alternate safety compliance program for certain older commercial fishing vessels. We recommended that the Commandant of the Coast Guard ensure that the Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy develops and implements an alternate safety compliance program, as required by law. The Coast Guard did not concur with our recommendation. As stated in our November 2022 report, the Coast Guard determined that it did not have the legal foundation to implement an alternate safety compliance program. We disagreed with the agency's determination and maintained that the Coast Guard should implement the program. However, in December 2022, the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2023 repealed the provision requiring the Coast Guard to implement an alternate safety compliance program. [Pub. L. No. 117-263, div. K, title CXV, § 11509(a)(3), 136 Stat. 4137 (2022)]. As a result, we are closing our recommendation that the Coast Guard implement the program as it is no longer valid.
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| United States Coast Guard | The Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure that the Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy develops a plan with time frames and interim milestones to fully implement the other 16 outstanding statutory requirements for commercial fishing vessel safety, including issuing regulations. (Recommendation 3) |
As of June 2026, the Coast Guard had implemented four of the 16 outstanding statutory requirements but does not have time frames or milestones for the remaining 12 requirements. In May 2025, Coast Guard officials told us that nine of these outstanding requirements were going to be completed in April 2026 when regulatory project RIN 1625-AB85 was published as a final rule. Officials said they would then provide time frames or milestones for the three other requirements. However, in June 2026, Coast Guard officials told us that they rescinded the regulatory project as a result of Executive Order 14267, which required agency heads to identify regulations that have anti-competitive effects and recommend whether the identified regulations should be modified or rescinded. We continue to monitor the Coast Guard's progress on implementing this recommendation.
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| United States Coast Guard | The Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure that the Fishing Vessel Safety Division establishes performance goals for the commercial fishing vessel safety program that fully address all aspects of the program's strategic goals. (Recommendation 4) |
In February 2024, the Coast Guard established six performance goals for the commercial fishing vessel safety program. However, the six performance goals do not fully address the following three aspects of the program's strategic goals: (1) conducting at-sea boardings, (2) reducing environmental damage, and (3) increasing the safety of high-risk vessels. In June 2026, Coast Guard officials told us that the program does not plan to establish a performance goal that relates to at-sea boardings because at-sea boarding initiatives are managed by the Coast Guard's Office of Maritime Law Enforcement (CG-MLE). In our November 2022 report, we described various ways that the commercial fishing vessel safety program and CG-MLE coordinate to assess and enhance the safety of commercial fishing vessels through at-sea boardings. While CG-MLE is responsible for overseeing at-sea boardings, the commercial fishing vessel safety program is not prevented from coordinating with CG-MLE to define the common outcomes they want to achieve, such as performance goals. In fact, according to the Coast Guard's Strategic Planning Directions for fiscal years 2011 through 2019, the commercial fishing vessel safety program had a performance goal related to at-sea boardings of commercial fishing vessels with an annual target that ranged from 7,800 to 9,000 boardings. Officials also provided additional information in June 2026 about the commercial fishing vessel safety program's efforts to reduce environmental damage caused by commercial fishing vessels and increase the safety of high-risk vessels. However, the information provided did not include performance goals, which comprise a measure, target, and timeframe, that could be used to assess progress towards the long-term goals of reducing environmental damage caused by commercial fishing vessels and increasing the safety of high-risk vessels. To fully implement this recommendation, the Coast Guard would need to establish performance goals that relate to (1) conducting at-sea boardings, (2) reducing environmental damage, and (3) increasing the safety of high-risk vessels. Without these performance goals, the Coast Guard is limited in its ability to assess the impact of activities that are important to the achievement of strategic goals as well as its progress towards its desired long-term outcomes. We continue to monitor the Coast Guard's progress on implementing this recommendation.
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| United States Coast Guard | The Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure that the Fishing Vessel Safety Division sets realistic targets for the commercial fishing vessel safety program's performance goals. (Recommendation 5) |
In February 2024, the Coast Guard set targets for the commercial fishing vessel safety program's six performance goals. We found that some of these targets were realistic because they reflected past performance and will be adjusted based on actual results. For example, for 2024, the Coast Guard set a target of 5,000 dockside exams conducted and 5,000 safety decals issued. In 2023, the Coast Guard conducted roughly 5,300 dockside exams and issued almost 4,100 safety decals. The Coast Guard stated that it will measure performance by analyzing actual numbers against the targets and that a 10 percent variance warrants consideration to adjust the next year's targets. However, the Coast Guard did not set realistic targets for its performance goals related to commercial fishing vessel losses and fatalities. The 2024 target for both goals was set at zero, which is the same target we evaluated in our November 2022 report. In May 2025, Coast Guard officials said that the commercial fishing vessel safety program does not intend to change the target for these goals because the only acceptable number of vessel losses or fatalities in a given year is zero. However, as we noted in our report, this target conflicts with the Coast Guard's Framework for Strategic Mission Management, Enterprise Risk Stewardship, and Internal Control, which states that (1) performance targets are ambitious and realistic expectations of future results that provide a benchmark for gauging performance and (2) programs should set targets that are determined from reliable baselines that encompass past results and other relevant factors that affect performance. The commercial fishing vessel safety program's long-term strategic goal is to achieve a significant reduction in commercial fishing vessel losses and fatalities. Annual performance targets for commercial fishing vessel losses and fatalities that adhere to the Coast Guard's framework would represent a realistic reduction in the number of vessel losses and fatalities when compared to a baseline that encompasses past results. We continue to believe this recommendation is important because realistic performance targets would enable Coast Guard to determine whether the commercial fishing vessel safety program's various efforts are achieving their intended near-term results, to identify areas for improvement if targets are not met, and to assess progress towards achieving a significant reduction in vessel losses and fatalities.
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| United States Coast Guard | The Commandant of the Coast Guard should ensure that the Fishing Vessel Safety Division uses performance data to assess progress towards the commercial fishing vessel safety program's goals on a regular basis. (Recommendation 6) |
In February 2024, officials from the Coast Guard's commercial fishing vessel safety program said that previous year performance will be assessed in January of the current year. In June 2025, officials provided agency guidance for assessing each of the program's six performance goals. We continue to monitor the Coast Guard's progress on implementing this recommendation as it develops performance goals for the program that are related to reducing environmental damage, conducting at-sea boardings, and increasing the safety of high-risk vessels.
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