BY BRYCE MILLER

COLUMNIST

They waited all day long to say their piece about the complexities, complications, data missteps and potentially life-altering financial peril of a 372-page report from the California Air Resources Board.

San Diego County sportfishing captains and the owner of the largest boat landing in California lingered from 9 a.m. until nearly 7 p.m. Friday to spotlight how pending regulations related to engine upgrades that do not exist for their boats could, as written, crush the industry.

They had a minute and a half each, or the time it takes to hit the drive-through at a bank.

How do you explain the real-world disconnects in the report, the mom-and-pop businesses built across generations that could be shuttered, and retirement plans that would vanish, to decision-makers in Sacramento?

As the clock ticks, unease and fear have grown into simmering anger.

“I don’t know one (sportfishing) operator or eco-tourism operator approached by CARB to talk about this … none,” said Frank Ursitti, owner of H&M Landing. “There’s been no outreach to understand their businesses or impacts. These are coastal economies. The ripple effect of this is huge.

“It’s incomprehensible that there’s (90 seconds) to comment.”

Without diving too deeply into the watery weeds, questions and disagreements swirl about data accuracy, safety and stability concerns, economic and human repercussions, fee increases that will price out underprivileged communities and more.

So, those with line-tightening livelihoods on the line paced for hours to leverage those 90 seconds.

Capt.Markus Medak, 49, paid off the $620,000 note on the New Lo-An just last month. He’s been chipping away at owning his floating business outright since early-2004.

Early on, CARB indicated that retrofitting older boats with “Tier 4” engines — again, engines that are not yet available for sportfishing-class boats — would be impossible for many. The solution, board representatives suggested, would be to buy new boats.

Now, the goalposts have moved and “many” is more likely “most.” The regulations threatening to tie boats to the dock would crater vessel values to almost zero, especially for bait-fishing boats built specifically for the San Diego’s unique fishery.

Even for the brave few willing to shoulder the immense expense, clouded sportfishing futures would make securing loans dicey at best.

“It’s not because we don’t want to have new boats,” Medak said. “It’s that we can’t pay for it. You’re talking $4-5 million. It’s impossible. Most of whatever excess money my business was generating, I was using that to pay the note down.

“That was my retirement account.”

The group gathered at the Sportfishing Association of California offices on North Harbor Drive wiled away the hours by swapping concerns and offloading frustrations.

SAC research shows that among the less than 200 boats that carry seven or more passengers in the California fleet — nearly half of which operate out of San Diego — 80 already use Tier 3 engines, the highest and most emissions-friendly option available for crafts of their size.

Another 85, according to SAC president Ken Franke, are currently approved or applying for those engines as the state banks on Tier 4 technology to catch up along the way.

San Diego captains watched a video that showed another troubling element of the proposed regulations.

In addition to Tier 4 engines, something called a diesel particulate filter is set to be required. The demonstration walked through the potential for the filter to clog and create an alarming fire risk.

“I wouldn’t want that to happen 200 miles offshore,” said Royal Star Capt. Tim Ekstrom, allowing some snark to sneak in. “I’m sure the Coast Guard would be fine with that, though.”

CARB estimated fee increases of $40 per passenger could cover looming costs, something the San Diego captains called absurd. That number, for argument’s sake, would push the basic half-day trips beyond $100 — though it would be undoubtedly more.

A speaker during the CARB meeting a retired man on a fixed income who takes his grandson fishing on California boats said a fee increase of that size would jeopardize if not end those trips.

“This is the beginning of gentrifying sportfishing,” Ursitti said. “It flies in the face of equity and access. We’re not an industry without the entry-level experience. If we price ourselves out of that and make it unattainable, everything fails.”

Yet, hope for compromise is peeking over the dark-blue horizon.

Nearly 100 speakers, including those in support of the proposed plans, marched on until 7 p.m. Issues were unwound like a living room-sized ball of string. Themes arose again and again like white caps.

There are clear signs that the avalanche of feedback resonated.

Board members talked about expanding funding, re-examining extension processes and improving communication, while elevating the focus on keeping the small businesses afloat as emission standards gain even sharper teeth.

A stubborn door truly might have been cracked.

“It was compelling,” Franke said Saturday. “I’m optimistic about finding a solution and something that makes sense.”