Association News

Today's Boating, Coast Guard and Harbormaster news is here.

Recreational Saltwater Fishing Permit

Recreational Saltwater Permit Comes to Massachusetts - Register federally in 2010, but purchase state permit in 2011.

New federal law [Magnuson-Stevens Act Reauthorization of 2006, Saltwater Angler Registry Final Rule - NOAA Fisheries] requires most saltwater recreational fishermen to be documented in 2010. Massachusetts fishermen will be required to register with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). However, recently enacted state law, “An Act Instituting Saltwater Fishing Licenses”, enables MarineFisheries to build and implement a permitting program for 2011 and beyond that will exempt the Commonwealth’s saltwater recreational anglers from the federal registry. The new state law triggers a transition from the federal registry in 2010 to the state’s marine recreational fishing permit program in 2011.

More information can be found here.

Posted on 09 Feb 2010 by admin

LORAN-C Terminated

LORAN-C has been Terminated - As a result of technological advancements during the last 20 years and the emergence of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), LORAN-C is no longer required by the armed forces, the transportation sector or the nation's security interests, and is used by only a small segment of the population. Official notice is here.

Posted on 20 Jan 2010 by admin

Proposed By-Laws Changes

To see the proposed By-Laws changes go here.

Posted on 29 Jan 2009 by admin

New Training Bill in Place for Harbormasters

By Times Staff - Gloucester Daily Times

Gloucester, Rockport and other communities begin the new year with new state guidelines regarding the standardized training and certification for municipal harbormasters.

The new law, signed into law this week by Gov. Deval Patrick, comes through a comprehensive bill shepherded through the Legislature by state State Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester. The measure, initially filed by Sen. Robert Hedlund, R-Weymouth, had been sought by numerous regional harbormasters' associations in the state.

Tarr said he sees many benefits for coastal communities arising from the new law.

"Without the structure of this bill, harbormasters have been doing their best to create training programs on their own," Tarr said. "Now they will have a reliable structure and a common platform to depend on for effective training."

Tarr said he had convened several meetings of interested parties at the State House over the past two years in order to develop consensus around the proper mechanisms to finance and govern harbormaster training, which is required for certification under state law.

Tarr noted that, while those affected by the bill were in agreement as to its necessity, regional differences needed to be reorganized.

"Solid teamwork between legislators and harbormasters will mean that the municipal personnel on the water will be efficient and effective, and the boating public and commercial fishermen will be better served," Tarr said.

Elements of the bill include establishing a training council consisting of representatives of each region of the state to design and approve training programs; creating a fund to receive and administer state and federal grants and fees assessed to cover the cost of training; and establishing a requirement that all harbormasters receive the approved training developed by the council.

"By doing this cooperatively, harbormaster training can be far more cost effective," Tarr said.

The measure drew support from Rockport Harbormasters Scott Story and Rosemary Lesch, Gloucester Harbormaster Jim Caulkett, and the North Shore Harbormasters Association.

"We are extremely excited that the bill has passed," Lesch said. "Thanks to all of the legislators and the entire Massachusetts Harbormaster Association for the hard work and dedication directed to the importance of this bill.

"It has been many years of hard work and continuation of efforts to keep training going without the backing of a training bill."

"The harbormasters from the three chapters — North and South Shore, Cape & Islands — all worked hard and committed their experience and dedication to seeing this law enacted," Caulkett added. "(It will) benefit all current and future harbormasters."

Tarr and Hedlund also thanked House colleagues Brad Hill, R-Ipswich, and Anthony Verga, D-Gloucester, for their role in advancing the bill through the House of Representatives.

Similarly, they expressed appreciation to Patrick, whose signature, they said, "reflects his understanding of the importance of this legislation to coastal communities."

Posted on 01 Jan 2009 by admin

Harbormaster Training Certification Bill Passed

Congratulations to all who have worked so hard to get the Harbormaster Training Bill 509 passed - North Shore, South Shore, Cape & Islands and Anne Lynch and Associates. The bill was signed on December 23, 2008.

Senate Bill No. 509
House - No. 4791

Posted on 23 Dec 2008 by admin

Abandoned vessels bill poised to become law

Kristen Grieco
The Gloucester Daily Times

Published: February 05, 2008 12:49 am

The lengthy legal process that marina owners are required to go through when they want to dispose of an abandoned vessel in their yard is about to get shorter, easier and cheaper.

State Rep. Anthony Verga, D-Gloucester, at Brown's Yacht Yard yesterday, pushed legislation which will become law that would aid yacht yards when boats are abandoned.  Deborah Hammond/Staff Photo

A bill sponsored by state Rep. Anthony Verga, D-Gloucester, would make it much easier for marina owners to get rid of abandoned boats, a process now mired in paperwork and legal fees.

Abandonment, which marina owners say typically happens when the bill for storage and repair adds up to more than the boat's worth, can cost a marina thousands in disposal and legal fees, not to mention the money lost by having a derelict craft taking up space that a paying customer could use.

But no matter how much of a nuisance an abandoned boat is, a marina operator is bound by law not to touch it until they've gone through a lengthy legal process, Verga said.

"Several marina operators are pushing for this (bill) and they all face the same problem of spaces being taken," Verga said. "It handicaps their business."

Marina owners say that dealing with an abandoned boat under current law is tedious, time-consuming and expensive. Once a marina decides a boat has been abandoned, it needs to acquire the vessel's title to sell or destroy it. That requires the marina to hire a lawyer and file a petition in Superior Court.

Marinas typically need to purge boats every two or three years, as the number of abandoned vessels pile up and take up larger amounts of space.

Jamy Buchanan Madeja, legal counsel for the Massachusetts Marine Trades Association, a statewide body that represents marine trades businesses, said that the process of taking ownership of an abandoned boat can be plagued with court delays.

"You're just in Superior Court, which is vastly overworked with other matters," Madeja said. "It takes years. They keep postponing, you're paying a lawyer the whole time. It's all about paperwork. It's never about the owner of a vessel who has an objection."

David Smith, a local maritime lawyer who handles abandoned vessel lawsuits, said that the process under current law can actually be streamlined and done in as little as four months. The filing fee for a lawsuit is about $300 per boat, he said.

Russ Vickers, owner of Hawthorne Cove Marina in Salem, estimated that disposing of a 30-foot boat costs between $1,500 and $2,000, and legal fees to gain ownership are about the same. And while the process goes through the courts (which, in an extreme case, once took Vickers five years), the marina is losing rent on the space - between $240 and $300 per month for a 30-foot boat.

"The thing is that 50 years ago, maybe lots of boatyards had extra space where they could tuck a boat," said Peter Bent, owner of Brown's Yacht Yard in Gloucester. "In today's world with real estate and taxes, every square inch of land is valuable and that boat's taking up valuable land. We turn people away for boat storage."

According to Smith, the new law will return the process to what it was three or four years ago. Then, a marina owner could simply adhere to a public notification and auctioning process. But then, Smith said, the Environmental Police adopted a new policy that forced marina owners to file lawsuits against the owners of abandoned boats instead.

Under the proposed bill, marina owners could gain the title of an abandoned boat without hiring a lawyer. They would need to go through a public notification process, including contacting the owner of the vessel by certified mail, advertising in a local newspaper and going through a waiting period.

If the owner came forward and a dispute ensued, the parties could go to district court or superior court. District court typically has shorter waiting periods and, therefore, tends to cost less than going through superior court.

Smith said the new law will not be a boon for marina owners. While some boats have value beyond the repair and storage bill, any extra money made from a vessel's sale is held indefinitely for the owner. Under the new law, that money will go into a state fund that later could be allocated for different uses on state waterways.

Madeja said the state is not promising any money; the law would only establish the fund and if money was raised through abandoned vessel auctions, it would be deposited.

The law would also apply to city-owned property on which boats were abandoned, though Gloucester Harbormaster Jim Caulkett said that city bylaws allow it to remove vessels with relative ease and without a court process. Still, he said, after removing upward of 30 derelict boats over the past nine years, he's happy to see a bill addressing the issue.

Because of the nuisance and cost that an abandoned vessel can cause, some marina owners have developed a policy of turning away boats that are in bad shape.

"The good news is that if you've been in business for 35 years, you can try to avoid taking the type of boat that's going to cause a problem," Bent said.

Vickers said he became sensitized to being more discriminating about which boats he took early on, after he readily accepted boats for storage that he "probably shouldn't have."

"I'm much more careful about who we take in for storage now based on the age and condition of the boat," Vickers said.

Not all marinas have the luxury of turning customers away, however.

"Those are the lucky ones," said Madeja. "There are many marinas throughout the state, including city marinas, that can't be so precise."

Verga was unable to give a timetable for the House of Representatives to vote on the bill. It is being reviewed by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.

Posted on 06 Feb 2008 by admin

Ship's Store

The Ship's Store has been expanded to include Harbormaster Tote Bags and the new Harbormaster Coin, which should be available soon. Have a look!

Posted on 30 Jan 2008 by admin

New Website

Massachusetts Harbormasters Association has a new website, with a lot of information pertaining to our association as well as boating in Massachusetts. If you think of anything which has been overlooked, or have suggestions to improve or augment the site, you can use the contact form.

Posted on 30 Jan 2008 by admin

2nd MHA Meeting a Success – Charter Ratified

Boston – (12/12/06) The regular meeting of the MHA held Tuesday December 12th at the Black Falcon Terminal in Boston was a resounding success as well as a culinary surprise. All Massachusetts harbormasters and assistant harbormasters in good standing were invited to attend. This spirited meeting showed all that Harbormasters can work together for a common goal in reorganizing the Association Charter and working for the good of the order. At the same time the entire staff of MHA officers and executive board committee was returned to office by unanimous re-election from among 40 members voting.



Joe Gibbs asked president Dave Fronzuto for a show of ideas of what may be on the list for the future.

Short-term goals:
o Group IV
o Harbormaster Academy

Long-term goals:
o exposure
o training
o verbal support
o networking
o website and dissemination of information
o survey and feedback

Posted on 03 Jan 2008 by admin

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