44 



Admiral Rufe. Yes, sir. We would certainly have the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service, as an example, assisting us. We would 

 invite the fishery associations to come in and provide some train- 

 ing, and we think by having the team here in Kodiak, it would pro- 

 vide us better access to those groups so that we could make this 

 relationship closer than it is now. 



Senator Stevens. You know one of my favorite subjects, and that 

 is the subject of the lack of search-and-rescue capability west of 

 Cold Bay. Is that still under study or does the Coast Guard intend 

 to rely on its resources from the Pacific and North Pacific areas? 



Admiral Rufe. Well, in all honesty, Senator Stevens, I do not 

 think that it is under active study because I do not think we are 

 looking to expand right now. We feel that with the increased num- 

 bers of cutters on the grounds, more than we had 2 or 3 years ago, 

 that we have good coverage for immediate response to search and 

 rescue. We generally have one ship up in the Bering Sea, one down 

 in the gulf, and usually one running up and down the Aleutian 

 Chain. 



Senator Stevens. Are they carrying helicopters? 



Admiral Rufe. Yes, sir, most of them — not all of them, but most 

 of them are. The two that are not are the Storis and the Yocona. 

 They operate out of Kodiak here, but the rest are. And a good ex- 

 ample of that is the fishing vessel Majestic that I mentioned in my 

 testimony. Because we had a Coast Guard cutter on patrol near the 

 Pribilofs, they were able to launch a helicopter as soon as we heard 

 the emergency position indicating radio beacon — EPIRB — go off 

 and get those guys out of the water within just a couple of hours. 

 So, I think with that kind of a capability, we have as good response 

 out to the Aleutians as we would if we had a permanent base in 

 Cold Bay or in Dutch Harbor. 



The Chairman. Do we have a facility at Dutch Harbor? 



Senator Stevens. No. 



Admiral Rufe. No, sir. We have a small team of marine inspec- 

 tors out there that board vessels. 



The Chairman. The largest fishing harbor in the United States 

 and we do not have a Coast Guard unit there? That sounds like 

 my hometown of Charleston. Let me ask Admiral Rufe with respect 

 to the enforcement representation, let us say, on the North Pacific 

 council. Now, you are not a voting member of the council. You 

 maintain a presence, you monitor the meetings, but do you speak? 

 Would you recommend that Coast Guard be better represented on 

 these councils? 



Admiral Rufe. I think the representation we have now is right. 

 I attend probably a day or two of each of these meetings. Each one 

 of these meetings runs about a week. And Captain Anderson who 

 is with me here, attends the entire meeting. He is there both at 

 the plenary sessions and he also participates in the law enforce- 

 ment committee. 



The Chairman. When you say participates, now, to what extent, 

 Captain Anderson? Do you just sit and listen politely — or are you 

 telling them, "Wait a minute, that is not going to work"? What is 

 the extent of your participation? 



Captain Anderson. All of the above, Senator. 



The Chairman. All of the above? 



