St. George Harbor Survey

St. George Harbor Survey

Research conducted by:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District

In cooperation with the City of St. George

OMB Control Number: 0710-0018

OMB Expiration Date: 11/30/2019

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Agency Disclosure Notice:

The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 30 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to the Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, Executive Services Directorate, Directives Division, 4800 Mark Center Drive, East Tower, Suite 03F09, Alexandria, VA 22350-3100 [0710-0018]. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number.

PLEASE DO NOT RETURN YOUR RESPONSE TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS.

Responses should be sent to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, CEPOA-PM-C-PL, P.O. Box 6898, JBER, AK 99506

Survey Number:

Survey Purpose: St. George Harbor is under-utilized due to difficulties entering and exiting the harbor, as well as high waves inside the harbor. The City of St. George (City) asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to assist in identifying potential navigation and mooring improvements. Your completion of this survey helps us identify which improvements would be used most. Results of this survey may justify future harbor development at St. George. Please complete and return this survey at your earliest convenience. Responses will be kept confidential, anonymous, and will not affect existing business with USACE, the City, or other survey respondents. The information collected will be managed in accordance with U.S. Army records retention requirements.

If you have any questions, or need to obtain additional copies of this survey, please contact the City or Brent Andrews (USACE) at (907) 753-5697 or [email protected].

1. Non-response Feedback

1.1. If you decide not to participate in this survey, please check one of the boxes below. This will help us to improve future surveys. Which of the following best describes your reason for not participating?

☐ I don’t have time to answer all the questions.

☐ I’m not authorized, or I am electing not to discuss company or organizational business:

☐ I objected to the way a question, or several questions, were asked:

☐ Another reason:

☐ N/A.

Please answer the following questions for one vessel only, or if you intend to purchase a vessel in the near future, and only if you live or work in the Pribilof Islands, or intend to sail out of St. George in the future. Again, additional copies can be obtained from the City or Brent Andrews (USACE).

2. General

1. Do you own a boat?

☐ Yes. How many:

☐ No.

☐ I will be using a friend or family member’s boat.

☐ I will be using a boat owned by a company or business entity:

2. How many times will you complete this survey:

3. Which best describes your reason for completing this survey?

☐ This vessel sails into St. George _____ time(s) per

☐ I would like to be able to sail into St. George in the future.

4. Do you intend to purchase a vessel soon? Please describe your timeline below. For example, “within a year,” or “after facilities are built.”

☐ Yes:

Please describe the vessel type and size:

☐ It will replace the vessel that this survey is completed for.

☐ No.

If you answered “No” to Questions 2.1 and 2.4, please skip to Question 2.9.

5. If there was an improved harbor with adequate space located at the southern end of St. George Island (in Zapadni Bay) would you seek a year-round stall assignment, transient moorage, or use a boat launch there?

☐ A Permanent, Year-Round Slip

☐ Occasional or Frequent Slip Use

☐ Dock Use

☐ Boat Launch Use

☐ None, or ☐ I launch from the village on the northern side of the island 100% of the time.

If you answered “None” above, please skip to Question 2.9.

6. If you’re an occasional or frequent slip, dock, or boat launch user please estimate your annual use:

Use
	Current	Desired
Overnight Harbor Stays
Boat Launches

7. What features would you like to see at this facility (see Question 2.8 as well)? Add explanation as you feel necessary.

☐ Functioning breakwater(s)

☐ Deeper dredging

☐ Removal of underwater obstructions

☐ Calmer conditions in the harbor

☐ Improved moorage

8. Please rank how important these items are to you:

Additional Features
Item	Importance
	Very	Fairly	Slight	Not
Aids To Navigation	☐	☐	☐	☐
Fuel Dock	☐	☐	☐	☐
Shore Based Seafood Processor	☐	☐	☐	☐
Transient Moorage	☐	☐	☐	☐
Working Floats	☐	☐	☐	☐
Permanent Moorage	☐	☐	☐	☐
Upland Warehouses	☐	☐	☐	☐
Boat Ramp	☐	☐	☐	☐
Travel Lift	☐	☐	☐	☐
Upland Storage Yard	☐	☐	☐	☐
Upland Boat Storage	☐	☐	☐	☐
Electricity on Dock	☐	☐	☐	☐
Parking	☐	☐	☐	☐
Restrooms	☐	☐	☐	☐
Dumpsters	☐	☐	☐	☐
Waste Oil Disposal	☐	☐	☐	☐
Vending\Ice	☐	☐	☐	☐
Cold Storage	☐	☐	☐	☐
Fish Cleaning Station	☐	☐	☐	☐
Gear Storage	☐	☐	☐	☐
Other:	☐	☐	☐	☐
Other:	☐	☐	☐	☐

1. Please describe any other features:

9. Do you know any persons or businesses who might return to St. George with a viable harbor and related facilities? Explain:

1. Would this person or business use the harbor approximately the same amount as described in this survey (for this vessel)?

☐ More. Days:

☐ Less. Days:

☐ Same

☐ N/A

If you answered “No” to Questions 2.1 and 2.4, and\or “None” to Question 2.5, and have answered Question 2.9, please skip to Section 5, then return the survey. Thank you.

3. Vessel

1. The primary purpose of the vessel that this survey pertains to is (please check only one):

☐ Subsistence (check this purpose if the vessel operates during a subsistence season, or during an open sport fishing or hunting season but the catch\harvest is for a subsistence need)

☐ Recreation

☐ Commercial Fishing or Tendering

☐ Charter\Sightseeing\Water Taxi. Proportion of use dedicated to tourism: _____ %

☐ Freight Transport

☐ Fuel Transport

☐ Other:

2. It’s size is:

Overall Length: feet.

Overall Breadth: feet.

Depth (Include keel if vessel has one): feet.

Draft Loaded: feet.

Draft Unloaded: feet.

3. It’s speed is:

Average cruising speed: knots.

Average speed when fishing: knots.

Minimum maneuvering speed in harbor: knots.

4. Did this vessel homeport in St. George in 2016:*

☐ Yes

☐ No. What is this vessel’s homeport: .

* We are interested in the port that this vessel calls its home, not the Port of Origin (painted on the aft), unless they are the same.

5. Please indicate any damages this vessel has incurred in St. George Harbor in the past. Please indicate the year, cause, kind of damages, and the cost of repair, or please estimate the commercial cost of repairs (or ☐ N/A).

Damages
Year	Cause \ Description of Damages	Cost

6. What problems have you encountered while navigating into St. George in the past five years (check all that apply) (or ☐ N/A)?

Problem
	Swamped Vessel		Inadequate Wave Protection
	Hull Punctures		Line Breakage
	Hull Scratches\Dents		Inadequate Channel Depths
	Damage Upon Entering Harbor		Damaged Buoys
	Damage Sustained in Harbor		Damaged Navigation Aids
	Damage Upon Exiting Harbor		Poor Water Quality
	Inadequate Docks		Overcrowding
	Inadequate Moorage\Slips		Congestion
	Moorage Costs Too High		Lack of Haulouts for Repairs
	Inadequate Security at Docks		Lack of Upland Facilities
	Vandalism		Inadequate Boat Storage
	Ice in Harbor		Inadequate Upland Parking

1. Please specify other problems encountered:

7. Over the past five years, have you encountered delays getting into or out of St. George? Please indicate the reason, the average number of occurrences per year, and length of delays:

Delays
Reason Waited for:	Average Occurrences per Year	Average Delay (Hours)
Wave height to decrease
Wind speed\direction to change
Tide to change
Ice to move\breakup
Harbor staff to become available
Rafted boat owner to return
Moored vessel to move
There were launch delays at the ramp
Other:
Other:

1. Please further explain how delays added to your costs (if you feel that it’s applicable):

8. How often do you bypass St. George Harbor because you expect poor harbor conditions or problems? _____ times per year*

* This is the number of times which you’d prefer to stop, if problems did not exist. Zero indicates that you would not ever stop, even with better conditions.

1. What is your next stop?*

* Include at-sea stops if applicable (i.e. you transfer catch or bunker fuel at-sea). Example, “At-sea, approximately 15 miles from St. George.”

Only answer the following questions if you indicated in Question 3.1 that this is a commercial fishing or tender vessel, otherwise skip to Section 5.

4. Commercial Fishing or Tendering

1. Think of your commercial fishing activity in the Pribilof Islands. What was the average crew size, including skipper, for commercial fishing trips in past five years? Number of crew, including skipper: _____

2. How many times a year do you get ice for your catch at the Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association (APICDA) ice plant in St. George:

3. Please indicate the percentage of catch delivered to different processors as an annual average for the past five years (check all that apply):

☐ APICDA plant in St. George: %.

☐ Shore-based plant in St. Paul: %.

☐ Shore-based plant not in St. George or St. Paul: %.

☐ At-sea processor: %.

☐ Tender: %.

☐ Other (describe): %.

* Column should total 100 percent.

4. If there were navigation improvements, including additional moorage, in St. George, would you change where you deliver your catch?*

☐ Yes

☐ No, would not change where I deliver (Skip to Section 5)

* Locating or renovating a processor in St. George is not part of the USACE navigation improvements proposed; however, APICDA intends to allocate a portion of its catch quota (defined by 50 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 680, Subpart C) to St. George once navigation improvements are in place. The share allocated depends on the transfer regulations in Subpart C, and also, potentially, on the willingness of fishermen to deliver catch to St. George.

5. If yes to question 4.4, please indicate the percentage of catch you would deliver to different processors. This is an estimate of how your delivery changes as a result of navigational improvements in St. George (check all that apply):

☐ Plant in St. George: %.

☐ Shore-based plant in St. Paul: %.

☐ Shore-based plant not in St. George or St. Paul: %.

☐ At-sea processor: %.

☐ Tender: %.

☐ Other (describe): %.

* Column should total 100 percent.

5. Comments

1. Please provide any other comments that you would like to share with the study team or the City of St. George:

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION

Please return this survey in the addressed, pre-paid envelope to:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District

CEPOA-PM-C-PL

P.O. Box 6898

JBER, AK 99506

OR:

Drop off at the City of St. George’s Office