There has been a lot of confusion around commercial boat registration this year. Many fishermen are unsure whether or not they still need to register their vessels with the Department of Motor Vehicles, which has been a requirement for a few years. A new state House bill has put that on pause.
Eric Hesselroph has fished in Naknek for 48 years. When he arrived this summer from Seattle, it was unclear whether he had to register his boat, the F/V Abe, at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Senate Bill 92, passed in 2018, required the additional registration. A new state House bill has put that on pause, but there was still confusion among the fishing community about whether commercial boats needed to be registered with the DMV.
Hesselroph called the King Salmon DMV to make an appointment and get some answers.
“They told me I couldn’t get one until the end of June , you know I’d be out on the fishing grounds way before that," Hesselroph said. "They said they had appointments every 15 minutes. People standing in line outside, and I thought ‘oh my gosh’ you know? They didn’t tell me one way or the other if they knew if it was required or not.”
Hesselroph called the Alaska Wildlife Troopers, who confirmed that they wouldn’t enforce DMV registrations this year.
“That was a relief for me, because that’s just one more hassle for me to try to accomplish and have worry about not being able to comply, what that would mean on the water if I didn’t have my sticker on the boat," said Hesselroph. "It was a dilemma and a lot of head scratching and confusion among other fishermen I’ve spoken to as well.”
The pause in enforcement is a result of House Bill 28, “Registration of Boats Exemption”. The House Special Committee on Fisheries introduced the bill this year. It passed the House in May, and currently awaits senate approval.
Aaron Frenzel, the Southern Detachment Commander with Alaska Wildlife Troopers, confirmed that commercial fishermen can rest easy this summer.
“We will refrain from issuing citations to commercial vessels that are currently U.S. Coast Guard documented but not DMV registered,” Frenzel said.
The “Derelict Vessel Act” passed in 2018 and required commercial vessels to register boats in three places: Coast Guard, Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission and the DMV.
“Fishermen came together and HB 28 was introduced to prevent that third additional registration requirement for them through the DMV,” Frenzel said.
The break in citations only applies to commercial fishing vessels; recreation vessels are still required to register with the DMV.
Fishermen like Hesselroph are relieved, saying the additional registration caused confusion and cost them money.
District 37 Rep. Bryce Edgmon supported House Bill 28.
“It was made very clear for us this legislature that this oversight in the bill we passed a few years ago -- it was crippling down on fishermen across the state requiring them to register in DMVs across the state that are very challenged," Edgmon said. "It was something that was an easy fix we could all agree on.”
Edgmon said he is confident the bill will pass the senate next session.
Contact the author at stephanie@kdlr.org or 907-842-2200.