Commercial fishermen gave mixed reactions hearing that the Island's boats and crews will have to meet tougher safety standards if recommendations made by Marine and Ports become law.

This week, Transport Minister Ewart Brown announced several recommendations as a result of an inquiry into the sinking of the fishing vessel New Nuts.

Peter Olander, Peter Olander, owner of Albatross Boat Charters told The Royal Gazette he would be happy to see regulations tightened. "I think they're long overdue. Some of the boats are not up to standard and even seaworthy in my standard. The standards in Bermuda have been pretty shabby over the years," he said.

Mr. Olander, a recently retired captain, said he was especially pleased that vessels would be tested for their seaworthiness.

"There haven' been any regulations on seaworthiness or anybody here that I know of on marine board who can regulate these boats. It's long overdue," he said. Jennifer Young of Sea Wolffe Sportsfishing also said she welcomed the reccomendations: "I think that it's good that the boats will be well-equipped and tested for their seaworthiness. "Safety is important and so I think it's a good thing."

However fisherman Delvin Bean said although he believed in "safety first", he felt commercial fishermen should have had some say in the recommendations before they were made public. "It's a group of people who are not investigating the whole situation, but instead are making decisions based on one situation," he said referring to the fate of the New Nuts.

"All fishing vessels are assessed by the Fisheries Department (of the Ministry of the Environment) every single year," Mr. Bean said. "What they are saying is that the fisheries department and Marine and Ports are not on the same page."