Fishermen Reach Insurance Pact

While commercial fishermen at Channel Islands Harbor battle over a host of issues, fishermen at Ventura Harbor have settled an insurance dispute that some said would put them out of business.

Ventura Harbor officials have worked out an arrangement with commercial fishermen that will slash liability insurance requirements from $300,000 to $100,000.

“The fishermen said anything beyond that just wasn’t feasible,” said Richard Parsons, harbor general manager.

Joe Bordenowski, who heads the Ventura County Fishermen’s Assn., was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

Many commercial fishermen with older, wooden-hulled boats have found it difficult in recent years to find companies willing to sell them liability insurance, Parsons said. Typically, small mom-and-pop fishing operations can’t afford the insurance required at many harbors.

Ventura Harbor has long required its about 100 commercial fishing boats to carry at least $300,000 in liability insurance. But because of what Parsons termed “inept management” by Ocean Services, the provision was rarely enforced.

Ocean Services managed the harbor from 1982 until it filed for bankruptcy in 1987. The commercial wharf was then managed by Security Pacific Bank, which took possession of the property through foreclosure.

The Port District took over the commercial operations last fall and hired a new management firm, which soon began enforcing the $300,000 requirement.

‘Prudent Amount’

“Most marinas have determined on the advice of their insurance carriers that this is a prudent amount,” Parsons said.

But Ventura Harbor fishermen complained, saying such high requirements were torpedoing their livelihoods.

Parsons said his new management firm, Newman Properties of Long Beach, has been meeting with harbor officials and commercial fishermen for about a month in an attempt to hammer out a solution.

At Channel Islands Harbor, by contrast, commercial fishing boats are required to carry liability insurance of between $50,000 and $300,000, depending on the size of the boat, said Frank Anderson, harbor manager. He said his staff is evaluating those requirements to see if they should be changed.