U.S. Coast Guard personnel from District Fourteen and Air Station Barbers Point pose for a photo with a member of the Royal New Zealand Air Force and Forum Fisheries Agency at the Regional Fisheries Surveillance Centre (RFSC) in Honiara, Solomon Islands, Aug. 13, 2024. An HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Air Station Barbers Point toured the RFSC as part of their participation in Operation Island Chief, during which they searched over 232,100 square miles in the South Pacific to detect any illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activity. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)
Below are two news releases reporting US Coast Guard participation in Operation NASSE, a joint Australia, France, New Zealand, and the U.S. effort in support of the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) in Honiara, Solomon Islands and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.
Barbers Point HC-130Js flew in support of the mission July 1-12 and Aug. 5-16.
(While the second news release refers to an Operation Island Chief, the data reports, “Joint efforts for Operation Nasse covered over 7 million square miles, with the Coast Guard contributing…” so I may be a bit confused. Is Island Chief part of NASSE or entirely separate? At any rate, Coast Guard fixed wing aircraft have been operating out of New Zealand, Vanuatu, and Guadalcanal to counter Illegal, Unregulated, Unreported (IUU) fishing.)
This post from 2022 provides background on Operation NASSE.
HONOLULU – The U.S. Coast Guard completed participation in Operation Nasse, a three-month operation conducted by Australia, France, New Zealand, and the U.S. to safeguard the invaluable marine resources of Pacific Island nations and the Western Central Pacific Ocean, July 12.
From July 1-12, an HC-130J Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point patrolled the South Pacific High Seas in and around the Exclusive Economic Zones of Australia, New Caledonia, Fiji, New Zealand, Tonga, Niue, and the Cook Islands to detect, investigate and report any illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activity.
During the operation, the Coast Guard collaborated with Pacific Quadrilateral Defense Coordinating Group (Pacific QUAD) partners to enhance their Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) tools and communications to support regional and national maritime surveillance efforts.
The wide-ranging operations were supported by the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency’s (FFA) Regional Fisheries Surveillance Center (RFSC) and several FFA members to reinforce the conservation work of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) on the high seas. Alongside the P-QUAD partners, Fiji, Vanuatu, and the Cook Islands participated in the operation for the first time.
Coast Guard participation in Operation Nasse is part of Operation Blue Pacific, an overarching multi-mission Coast Guard endeavor promoting security, safety, sovereignty, and economic prosperity in the Pacific while strengthening relationships between partner nations.
“Oceania is vast, and the challenges of illegal fishing require a united front,” said Lt. Cmdr. Keith Arnold, HC-130J aircraft commander for U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point. “Collaborating with the Pacific Quad and other regional partners to combine our resources and expertise to enhance monitoring tools is crucial to countering illegal fishing activities in Oceania. Sharing data, strengthening our communication networks, and coordinating patrols allows us to create a more comprehensive picture of what’s happening on the water in the region. This collaborative approach sends a strong message to those engaged in illegal fishing: we will work together to stop these activities and protect these vital resources.”
Joint efforts for Operation Nasse covered over 16,000 square miles, with the U.S. Coast Guard contributing:
- Over 58 hours of flight time
- 37 vessels sighted and analyzed
- Four potential Conservation and Management Measures (CMM) violations reported
- 240 hours of analyst-to-analyst collaboration and training
Located in Honolulu, U.S. Coast Guard District Fourteen covers more than 14 million square miles of land and sea, conducting operations over the Hawaiian Islands, American Samoa, Saipan, Guam, Singapore and Japan.
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U.S. Coast Guard completes Operation Island Chief in Pacific region
Coast Guard District 14 External Affairs – Office: (808) 535-3230 / After Hours: (808) 265-7748
HONOLULU – The U.S. Coast Guard completed Island Chief, a 13-day operation to safeguard the invaluable marine resources of Pacific Island nations and the Western Central Pacific Ocean.
From Aug. 5-16, an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point patrolled the South Pacific High Seas in and around the exclusive economic zones of Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Republic of Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu to detect, investigate and report any illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activity.
The Hercules crew worked with the Regional Fisheries Surveillance Centre, a part of the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) in Honiara, Solomon Islands, to reinforce the conservation work of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.
Coast Guard participation in Operation Island Chief is part of Operation Blue Pacific, an overarching multi-mission Coast Guard endeavor promoting security, safety, sovereignty and economic prosperity in the Pacific while strengthening relationships between partner nations.
The Coast Guard conducted Operation Island Chief alongside the Pacific Quadrilateral Defense Coordinating Group (Pacific QUAD), in support of the Pacific Islands FFA and its members.
FFA Director General Dr. Manu Tupou-Roosen highlighted the significance of the FFA-led Operation Island Chief 2024, coordinating surveillance efforts for participating Members.
“Operation Island Chief reinforces FFA’s commitment to sustainable fisheries management and maritime security in the Pacific,” said Dr. Tupou-Roosen. “This operation exemplifies the spirit of regional collaboration and determination among Pacific Island nations. The compliance checks of vessels and operators through a robust regional surveillance operation ensures effective management regime and preserving our marine resources, as well as securing the livelihoods and food security of our people.”
“Given the vastness of the Pacific region, close collaboration between U.S. Coast Guard personnel, patrol assets and regional partners is integral to sustained success in combatting IUU fishing across the region,” said Marc Stegman, IUU fishing strategic advisor, Coast Guard District Fourteen.
Joint efforts for Operation Nasse covered over 7 million square miles, with the Coast Guard contributing:
- Over 37 hours of flight time
- Over 10,500 miles flown
- Over 232,100 square miles searched
- Three missions flown from Vanuatu and four missions flown from Solomon Islands
- 70 vessels sighted and analyzed
Located in Honolulu, U.S. Coast Guard District Fourteen covers more than 14 million square miles of land and sea, conducting operations over the Hawaiian Islands, American Samoa, Saipan, Guam, Singapore and Japan.
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Chuck Hill's CG Blog 
The end result is an overly excessive number of flight hours and fuel consumed to, in essence, search for something that might not have been there. This seems like a colossal waste of resources when the better approach would have been to use overhead sensing and imagery intelligence to pinpoint problem areas and targets to investigate. Maybe this should just be considered a partial price to pay to the island countries toward keeping them on our side by providing a bulwark and counter-action to the PRC’s adventurism. Not to worry, the pilots and crew got what their careers require – flight hours.