A foreign fishing vessel pulling a shark aboard while conducting shark finning operations in the North Pacific, May 12, 2024. Regional Fisheries Management Organizations regulate the process of shark finning through Conservation and Management Measures. These measures require fully utilizing retained catches of sharks and limits on amounts of fins onboard in relation to those sharks. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)
Below is a news release from District 17 regarding IUU Fisheries enforcement involving not only the US Coast Guard but also Canada, Japan, and S. Korea.
Also thought the video immediately below might be of interest. The Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Sir Wilfrid Laurier that was part of the operation looks like a buoy tender, but it is more than twice as large as USCG buoy tenders, larger in fact than the National Security Cutters by full load displacement. She was commissioned in 1986 and is capable of light icebreaking, operating in the Arctic, and has a helicopter deck and collapsable hangar.
The US Coast Guard has started using buoy tenders to do fisheries and to support and resupply fast response cutter including operations in the Western Pacific and Eastern Pacific drug transit areas.
I would not be surprised if the Coast Guard’s next class of buoy tenders were not also designed as similar larger, long range, multipurpose ships but unlike the Canadian ships, armed and faster than 15.5 knots.
USCGC Juniper, oldest of US WLBs is 28 years old and since it seems to take ten years from the initiation of a shipbuilding program to delivery, it is not too early to start thinking about the next generation. An early start might allow us to produce a proven tested prototype before we need to contract to replace the entire class.
JUNEAU, Alaska – The U.S. Coast Guard, Canadian forces, and international partners wrap-up Northern Pacific counter Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing patrol, Operation North Pacific Guard 2024.
Operation North Pacific Guard is an annual multi-mission effort between international partners that provides surface and air patrols and shares intelligence that guides patrol assets to detect and intercept illicit fishing activity.
The joint mission included U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Midgett, U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, U.S. Coast Guard District Seventeen, the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Japan Coast Guard, Fisheries Agency of Japan, and Korea Coast Guard.
As a result of the high seas patrols, air surveillance, and electronic monitoring, the joint crews identified potential instances of illegal harvesting of shark fins and dark vessels, a term for vessels that intentionally turn off their monitoring systems.
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Midgett patrolled the North Pacific for 65 days and conducted 21 high-seas boardings and inspections which detected four potential violations of conservation and management measures under the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) and North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC).
U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak HC-130J Super Hercules airplane crewmembers conducted five 12-day deployments near Yokota Air Base and Misawa, Japan and observed 411 vessels. The crews observed potential shark finning violations and improper fishing vessel markings on multiple vessels.
“IUU fishing is a complex and global problem that calls for an international unified response,” said Capt. Ryan Waters, chief of enforcement for the Coast Guard’s Seventeenth District. “North Pacific Guard is a prime example of a strong, sustained multi-lateral partnership to maximize the impact of collective counter-IUU fishing enforcement efforts and promote the rule of law at sea.”
IUU fishing is detrimental to long-term, stable national security, international relations, and global economics. Up to 27 million tons of fish are caught illegally each year worldwide. The U.S Coast Guard leads U.S. Government efforts in multinational campaigns like North Pacific Guard that counter IUU fishing at-sea, uphold global rules-based order, and promote economic prosperity.
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