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A proposal from the U.S. Coast Guard to remove dozens of navigational buoys from Maine’s coastal waters is being criticized by people in the state’s fishing and boating industries.
The navigational markers, which are anchored in place as they float on the water’s surface, are used by mariners to navigate in and out of harbors, or around submerged ledges and other hazards. Some have lights or reflectors so they can be seen in low-light conditions, while others make sound with bells or other devices.
The goal of the proposal is to “modernize and rightsize” coastal navigation networks to “deliver effective, economical service [and] manage vessel transit risk to acceptable levels at acceptable cost,” Coast Guard officials have said.
The design of buoy navigation networks predate more modern electronic navigation aids that range from radar and chart plotters to smartphone navigation apps and which have become more commonplace in recent years, the Coast Guard said.
But despite the availability of navigation information online, or via other electronic means, the presence of physical navigation buoys floating in the water serve as a valuable alternate source of information, according to opponents of the plan. Electronic systems or even a boat’s electric power can go out at sea, and keeping your eyes on the water instead of darting back and forth from one screen to another helps boost safety.
“Electronics can fail,” Tim Hodgdon, president of Hodgdon Yacht Services in Boothbay, said Monday. If this happens when you’re out in the fog, or are traveling at night, the presence of buoys might be the only way boaters have to pinpoint where they are.
“I think it’s a bad idea to start removing navigational aids,” he said.
Hodgdon, known mainly as a boat builder, also rents out motor yachts to clients in the summer. He said that visitors to Maine who may not know the local waters as well as year-round mariners could be affected by the removal of navigation buoys. But all mariners will face greater risks if navigational buoys are removed and not replaced, he said.
Kevin Kelley, spokesperson for Maine Lobstermen’s Association, said the industry group is concerned about the Coast Guard proposal. Navigational buoys are “essential tools” along Maine’s highly convoluted coast, he said, where rocky outcroppings are common and where tides can be strong, especially in eastern Maine
“They are especially critical in areas prone to dense fog, strong currents, or hidden hazards,” Kelley said. “Their removal could jeopardize the safety of those who depend on them daily and we urge the Coast Guard to reconsider.”
Genevieve MacDonald, a lobster fisherman and former state legislator from Stonington, serves on the board of Green and White Hope, a nonprofit aimed at making commercial fishing more safe, though it is not involved in trying to shape safety policies.
MacDonald said that, based on her experience, removing navigational aids from the water will have the opposite effect.
“It’s very easy to get disoriented in the fog,” MacDonald said, adding that electronics do not provide the same level of orientation as visually being able to see how far away you are from a ledge or from shore.
She compared relying on electronics to using an online map system while driving down the road.
“If you are looking out your windshield, it is more reliable and safer than looking at your GPS,” MacDonald said. “It makes navigating in the water harder and less safe.”