17th COAST GUARD DISTRICT ENFORCEMENT REPORT 01 JUN - 30 SEP 06 Prepared By: Living Marine Resources Branch Seventeenth Coast Guard District P.O. Box 25517 Juneau, AK 99802-5517 Table of Contents Page I. High Seas Drift Net Enforcement ..................................................................1 II. US/Russian Maritime Boundary Line (MBL) Enforcement........................–2 III. Donut Hole Activity .......................................................................................3 IV. Dixon Entrance Enforcement .........................................................................3 V. Steller Sea Lions and Critical Habitat Enforcement ......................................3 VI. CGD17 Commercial Fishing Vessel Boarding Statistics ..............................4 VII. IFQ At-Sea/Dockside Enforcement ...............................................................4 VIII. CGD17 Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety/Search and Rescue Cases...5–11 IX. CGD17 Resource Summary .........................................................................12 X. Maritime Security.........................................................................................13 XI. International Enforcement Meetings............................................................13 Appendices Appendix A 01 JUN – 30 SEP Boardings Without Violations .........................14–19 Appendix B 01 JUN - 30 SEP Boardings With Violations ...............................20–23 Figures 1. High Seas Drift Net Aircraft Search Coverage ..............................................1 2. High Seas Drift Net Vessel Sighted By Canadian Air Force.........................1 3. 2006 MBL Incursions.....................................................................................2 4. JUN–SEP MBL Max Monthly Detections.....................................................2 5. Historical MBL Maximum Monthly Detections............................................2 6. 2006 Donut Hole Trial Fishing ......................................................................3 7. Fisheries Boardings By Year..........................................................................4 8. Fisheries Violations By Year .........................................................................4 9. Historical Overview of CFVS Statistics ........................................................5 10. Annual HC-130 Flight Hours.......................................................................12 11. Annual Major Cutter Days ...........................................................................12 12. JUN – SEP HC-130 Hours ...........................................................................12 13. JUN – SEP Major Cutter Days.....................................................................12 Tables 1. CGD17 CFVS/Search and Rescue Case Summaries ...............................6–11 List of Abbreviations CFVS – Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety HSDN – High Seas Drift Net FBS - Russian Federal Border Service MBL – US/Russian Maritime Boundary FF/V – Foreign Fishing Vessel NPSC – North Pacific SAR Coordinator GOA – Gulf of Alaska SAR – Search and Rescue HC-130 – USCG Fixed-Wing Aircraft UMIB –Urgent Marine Info Broadcast HEC/MEC – High/Medium Endurance Cutters WLB – 180ft or 225ft Buoy Tender HH65/60 – CG helicopter WPB – 110ft Patrol Boat i I. High Seas Drift Net Enforcement Coast Guard assets continued Shemya the joint efforts to control illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing in the North Pacific Ocean. The primary monitoring platforms are long-range search aircraft including Air Station Kodiak HC-130s combined with Canadian Air Force CP140 Auroras. These fixed winged aircraft carried U.S. and Midway Canadian enforcement officials who identify and report suspected illegal, unregulated, Wake and unreported fishing vessels for subsequent interdiction by the U.S. Coast Guard’s Pacific Figure 1. High Seas Drift Net Aircraft Search Coverage. Area cutters. The U.S. Coast Guard HC-130s flew 154 hours for the reporting period in one deployment each to Shemya, Wake, and Midway islands. Canadian Air Force CP-140 Auroras flew 162 hours in two separate deployments to Shemya. So far during the 2006 operation, Canadian aircraft sighted as many as seven vessels actively driftnet fishing and numerous others with rigging fitting the profile of high seas driftnet operations. Positive identification was not possible due to missing or ambiguous hull markings (Figure 2). The U.S. State Department is continuing efforts to identify the vessels sighted and will request flag-state Enforcement. Sea surface temperatures in the area suggest that the vessels were Figure 2. High Seas Drift Net Vessel Sighted By Canadian Air Force. targeting squid or tuna. 1 II. US/Russian Maritime Boundary Line (MBL) Enforcement The downward trend in foreign fishing intensity seen along the MBL since the late-1990s appears to be continuing. There have been only two incursions detected so far in 2006 (Figure 3). Both of the 2006 incursions were minor, detected on radar, and immediately returned to the RS EEZ after being issued verbal warnings. Neither positive vessel identification nor fishing activity could be verified due to low visibility, although the track-speed profiles did match those of vessels trawling. The average maximum number of vessels Figure 3. 2006 MBL Incursions. detected (Figures 4 & 5) has dropped from 52 in 2001 to a low of about 5 in 2005. The density has increased slightly in 2006, although overall numbers of fishing vessels remain quite low. Those vessels present have continued to skirt the edge of the MBL very closely, making the MBL a continued high priority for enforcement resources. For the reporting period, the following MBL details apply: • Coast Guard HC-130’s flew 24 sorties totaling 199 hours. • Coast Guard HEC/MECs spent 24 days Figure 4. June–Sept MBL Max Monthly Detections. patrolling the line. 180 160 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 140 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Figure 5. Historical MBL Maximum Monthly Detections. Figure 5 shows the highest number of vessels detected within 20 NM of the US EEZ by an HC-130 flight during that month. 2 III. Donut Hole Activity Three Korean vessels conducted trial during the reporting period, the first such effort since 2003. Korea had received a one-time-only approval to use four vessels in 2006 (instead of the usual two) at the 2005 Donut Hole meeting in Pusan. The Seventeenth District uses VMS as the primary tracking tool with HC-130 verification for trial fishing vessels. The Coast Guard makes a concerted effort to board trial-fishing boats while they are in the Donut Hole (Figure 6) to verify catch reports and ensure compliance Figure 6. 2006 Donut Hole Trial Fishing with the Convention. However, Coast Guard assets were committed to other missions and were unable to intercept the trial-fishing vessels for boarding. Seventeenth Coast Guard District representatives attended the 11th Annual Convention For The Conservation & Management Of Pollock Resources In The Central Bering Sea (aka, Donut Hole Agreement) 05-07 September 2006 in Warsaw, Poland. Dr. Loh Lee Low of the NMFS Alaska Science Center led the delegation along with representatives from the U.S. State Department, NMFS headquarters & enforcement, NOAA General Council, States of Alaska & Washington, and fishing industry advisors. Representatives from Japan, Poland, Korea, Russia, and the PRC were in attendance. Poland as represented the European Union (not a signatory per sé) at this conference. The Seventeenth District presented a year-in-review of monitoring/enforcement activities in Donut Hole. Japan indicated that they may conduct trial fishing in November, 2006, and Korea plans to send trial fishing vessels in 2007. IV. Dixon Entrance Enforcement Due to low threat levels, Coast Guard enforcement resources were limited to standby for Dixon Entrance. There were no significant fisheries violations detected during the reporting period. V. Steller Sea Lions and Critical Habitat Enforcement The Coast Guard continues to assist NMFS’s in management activities to ensure current groundfish fisheries are not adversely affecting Steller Sea Lions or impeding their recovery. The Coast Guard does this through continued patrols of Steller Sea Lion Critical Habitat Areas. Cutters committed 155 hours and aircraft flew 36 hours in support of this mission. There were no significant violations observed. 3 VI. CGD17 Commercial Fishing Vessel Boarding Statistics At-sea domestic fisheries boarding numbers were consistent with the same period from last year. There were 26 at-sea fisheries violations. All of the violations were minor, including twelve summary settlements, all of which were administrative compliance discrepancies. The remainder of the violations were also administrative discrepancies with the exception of one violation for processing rockfish early. Figures 7 and 8 show the historic trend for boardings and violations over the last eight years. Figure 7. Fisheries Boardings By Year Figure 8. Fisheries Violations By Year 1200 100 10% 10% 91 Violations Rate 90 9% 9% 1000 80 At-Sea Dockside 8% 8% 8% 8% 8% 466 7% 70 70 800 7% 7% 7% 7% 60 54 6% 600 152 165 50 125 50 44 47 183 102 44 41 5% 74 40 40 37 76 36 400 4% 656 30 542 605 529 496 484 462 510 3% 200 409 377 20 10 2% 0 0 1% 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 The fisheries violation rate was up by almost three percent from the