Bristol Bay Fuels of Dillingham and Naknek has put in an order in for 50 quarantine flags, also known as the “Lima flag.” The black and yellow checked flag, sometimes called the “Yellow Jack,” is used to indicate to others that there is a person onboard the vessel who is in quarantine, and to stay away. The term “Yellow Fever” is somehow traced to the use of this flag.
The company has also ordered 50 solid yellow “Quebec Flags,” which indicate the vessel is free from infection.
According to a MRAK source, the flags will arrive around June 1 for the commercial fishing season.
New State health mandates will require much of Alaska’s fishing fleet to have a quarantine flag on board this season. The requirement is only if fishing vessels or their crew members are coming from out of state. All people coming into the state need to quarantine for 14 days, although in many cases, the fishing boats will have been underway for most of that time before they reach the Bristol Bay fishing grounds.
Most of Bristol Bay’s commercial fishing fleet is from Washington state.
