Coast Guard air patrols to keep tabs on crabbing boats

Observations are relayed to Coast Guard vessels and state regulators.

  • By JEFF HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian
  • Sunday, February 4, 2018 4:31pm
  • Northwest

By Jeff Heffernan / The Daily Astorian

ASTORIA, Ore. — As crabbers crowd the mouth of the Columbia River and jockey for their catch, the Coast Guard soars above, ensuring some order to the fray.

On some days during crab season, a four-member Coast Guard crew flies a C-27 plane north from Air Station Sacramento to help patrol crab boats off the Oregon and Washington state coasts. The plane flew along the coast Thursday for more than two hours, as far south as Oceanside and up north to Grays Harbor, a span of more than 100 miles.

The crew and a local marine enforcement specialist from Air Station Astoria spotted roughly 100 vessels, about 80 of which were concentrated within 40 miles of the mouth of the river.

“With such a large fleet in a small area, there’s not a lot of margin for error there,” 3rd Class Maritime Enforcement Specialist Matthew Young said.

Besides aiding an occasional search-and-rescue operation, the crew’s main objective is to keep track of crab boats and provide an aerial perspective — anywhere from 500 feet to 1,500 feet above the water — of crabbing. Their observations are relayed to Coast Guard vessels and state regulators, who then may be better able to focus patrols.

“We mostly do most of the pointing out and say, ‘You’ve got to go here,’” 1st Class Aviation Maintenance Technician Chris Porter said.

The crew’s visits are mainly concentrated at the beginning of crab season, when many of the valuable crustaceans are caught. Crab boats typically shift their attention every few days when returns begin to dwindle.

“It’s pretty random,” Young said.

Not as random was the timing of this year’s crab season opening. Low meat yields and price negotiations stalled the start of the season, which was scheduled to begin Dec. 1, until Jan. 22.

“There’s a difference year to year,” Young said. “It seems like they’re having a good season.”

The C-27 replaced the C-130 as the preferred aircraft for crab season flyovers a couple of years ago. After they sat idle in an Air Force hangar for five years, the Coast Guard purchased 14 of them. Air Station Sacramento — the only air station with fixed-wing aircraft on the mainland West Coast — houses six of the planes. The new toys come with perks and drawbacks.

“It allows us to fly at low elevations, but we have to be more careful about how offshore we go,” said Lt. Cmdr. G.B. Cathey, the pilot.

Cathey and his partner in the cockpit — Lt. Cmdr. Peter Igoe — recalled days out on the water in Coast Guard vessels, but they were in their element in the air on Thursday.

“I remember standing on a boat during a fishery, looking up at a patrol plane and saying, ‘That is where I want to be,’” Cathey said. “And here we are today.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Northwest

Washington State Ferries said it would deploy its new electric ferries first on the Mukilteo-Clinton run. Additional orders are expected to follow to replace more than a dozen other aging vessels in the fleet. (Photo by Tom Banse)
Washington state to buy new hybrid electric ferries from Florida shipyard

Gov. Bob Ferguson made the final call to turn down a higher bid from a local boat builder.

The Washington state Capitol. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard)
These Washington laws take effect July 1

Fee hikes for hunting and fishing licenses, workplace protections for immigrants and… Continue reading

Washington will have the nation’s third-highest state gas tax behind California and Pennsylvania.(Photo by Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard)
Gas tax will rise in Washington on July 1

Washington’s century-old fuel tax is going up again. On Tuesday, the gasoline… Continue reading

The BEAD program was created under the federal infrastructure law that former President Joe Biden signed in 2021. It was fashioned as a way to expand high-speed internet service into rural areas and other parts of the country where it was unavailable or lacking. (Stock photo)
Feds throw Washington’s $1.2B broadband program into disarray

States spent more than two years preparing to distribute the infrastructure funding, now the Trump administration is making last-minute changes to the rules.

Firefighters undertake a prescribed burn at the Upper Applegate Watershed near Medford, Oregon on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Such burns can help reduce the risk of large wildfires. (Kyle Sullivan, Bureau of Land Management/Flickr)
Trump looks to ‘consolidate’ wildland fire agencies

An executive order signed earlier this month by President Donald Trump would… Continue reading

Photo courtesy of Washington governor’s office
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, center, met with several statewide elected officials on Monday to discuss the how federal funding cuts could impact the state.
Tax collections tumble again in latest Washington budget forecast

The decline in receipts will force the state to draw down savings, but Gov. Bob Ferguson said he isn’t ready to summon the Legislature into a special session.

An EV charger in Granite Falls outside of Granite Falls City Hall on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Seattle judge orders Trump administration to unfreeze EV charger funding

The preliminary court ruling would unlock the money for more than a dozen states, including $71 million for Washington.

Nearly three-quarters of acute care hospital inspections were late, as of December, according to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee. One facility hadn’t gotten a state inspection since early 2018. (Stock photo)
Washington faces major lag in state inspections of hospitals

Washington state inspectors are way behind in their examinations of hospitals and… Continue reading

A classroom inside College Place Middle School in Lynnwood in 2023. New discipline guidelines for public school students will go into effect across Washington state next month. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Washington updates student discipline rules for public schools

New discipline guidelines for public school students will go into effect across… Continue reading

The Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, which is one of the largest immigrant detention facilities in the western U.S. (Grace Deng/Washington State Standard)
WA looks to strengthen safety net for children whose parents are deported

Detained immigrant parents worried who will pick their children up from school.… Continue reading

An EV charger in Granite Falls outside of Granite Falls City Hall on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Seattle judge considers reversing Trump’s EV charger funding freeze

Congress appropriated $5 billion, but the Trump administration stopped it from reaching states. Washington is leading the legal fight to access the money.

Washington’s payouts — known as tort liability — have skyrocketed from $72 million in fiscal year 2018 to more than $281 million last fiscal year. (Stock photo)
Washington state lawsuit payouts skyrocket to more than $500M in past year

Claims against the state’s Department of Children, Youth and Families are driving a spike in cases.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.