With customers beginning to focus on the new season’s boating and fishing adventures, dealers need to provide information about new rules taking effect regarding fire extinguishers. Manwhile, dealers whose customers fish the Gulf of Mexico need to know about the newly required fish descending devices.

A new Coast Guard regulation about fire extinguishers becomes effective April 20. Basically, it mandates that all disposable fire extinguishers be considered expired 12 years from their date of manufacture. What doesn’t change are the rules governing the types and quantities of fire extinguishers required on board. And that will likely be a source of confusion for many boat owners — your customers.

The new rules are based on the minimum Underwriters Laboratory classification of on-board extinguishers depending on a boat’s model year. It’s triggered by a plan to phase out older B-I and B-II rating labels for new 5-B, 10-B and 20-B classifications. The number in these new ratings designates the square feet of fire the device is suitable to extinguish. It does not designate the weight of the chemical inside.

It’s important to understand the difference in extinguishers. This does not affect portable extinguishers that have a pressure gauge showing that it’s still in the acceptable range, plus an installed lock pin and an unobstructed discharge nozzle.

For example, boats less than 26 feet and model year 2017 or older are permitted to continue carrying B-I or B-II disposable extinguishers. However, when they hit 12 from the manufacture date, they are no longer acceptable and should be replaced with 5-B or greater extinguishers. Boats smaller than 26 feet but model year 2018 or newer must carry either a 5-B, 10-B or 20-B extinguisher. (Note that extinguishers with B-I and B-II classifications won’t meet the new rules.)

For boats fron 26 to 40 feet, having two 5-B extinguishers aboard meets the new rules. Dealers need to make sure customers understand that having one 10-B aboard does not equal two 5-B units. If a customer wants to carry just one extinguisher, only a 20-B unit will meet the minimum requirement.

BoatUS notified its members of the changes and urged them to consider exceeding the minimum requirements for an extra measure of safety. The results of a BoatUS Foundation-sponsored boat-burn study showed that one extinguisher may afford very little time to make an emergency call or abandon the vessel.

Fishing Gulf Waters

It became effective Feb. 14, but some anglers in my marina aren’t aware of a new regulation. The rule calls for having either a venting tool or a descending device rigged and ready to use when fishing for reef fish in the federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

The new rule applies to fishing for reef fish from recreational boats, commercial vessels, charter boats and headboats. It permits anglers to choose which device to use, but be kept at the ready.

As is typical in Washington, D.C., the regulation comes from the Direct Enhancement of Snapper Conservation and the Economy through Novel Devices Act of 2020, or in English the DECSEND Act. The descending device or venting tool requirement will expire in January 2026.

A descending device is an instrument capable of releasing a fish at the depth from which the fish was caught. It has a weighted hook, lip clamp or box that will hold the fish while it is lowered to the proper depth. A minimum of 16 ounces of weight must be used, along with at least 60 feet of line attached to the device. It automatically releases the fish at a safe depth.

A venting tool penetrates the abdomen of a fish to release the excess gases accumulated in its body cavity when it was retrieved from deep water. It’s a sharpened, hollow instrument that allows air to escape like a hypodermic syringe with the plunger removed. It’s quite simple to use and effective in successfully releasing a reef fish to go back down.

The point of all this is to prevent injury to the fish caused by barotrauma, the expansion of gas inside the fish from the rapid decrease in pressure occurring when the fish is reeled up from the bottom. Both devices allow the gas to escape or equalize so the fish survives.

Dealers in states that border the Gulf who serve customers who fish should consider stocking the devices. A venting tool retails for as little as $9.

Even better, dealers might consider giving their angling customers a device as a thank you for their business.