th 17 COAST GUARD DISTRICT ENFORCEMENT REPORT 15 MAR 05 - 31 MAY 05 Prepared By: Operational Planning and Policy Division 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 ................................................................................................... 3 IV. Dixon Entrance............................................................................................. 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... 5–8 IX. CGD17 Resource Summary ......................................................................... 9 X. Maritime Security....................................................................................... 10 XI. International Engagement........................................................................... 10 Figures 1. High Seas Drift Net Aircraft Search Area.................................................... 1 2. 13 MAY 05 MBL Scatter Plot of Vessels Sighted by HC-130’s ................ 2 3. 2000-2005 MBL Max Detections 0-20 NM in RS EEZ .............................. 2 4. Fisheries Boardings ...................................................................................... 4 5. Fisheries Violations...................................................................................... 4 6. Historical Overview of CFVS Statistics ...................................................... 5 7. Annual HC-130 Flight Hours....................................................................... 9 8. Annual Major Cutter Days ........................................................................... 9 9. MAR – MAY HC-130 Hours....................................................................... 9 10. MAR – MAY Major Cutter Days ................................................................ 9 Tables 1. CGD17 CFVS/Search and Rescue Case Summaries ............................... 5–8 Appendices A. Boardings Without Violations 24 MAR 2005 – 31 MAY 2005.......... 11–12 B. Boardings With Violations 24 MAR 2005– 31 MAY 2005 ................ 13–14 List of Abbreviations CFVS – Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety HSDN – High Seas Drift Net FSB - Russian Federal Security 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 WLB – 180ft or 225ft Buoy Tender WHEC/WMEC – High/Medium Endurance Cutters WPB – 110ft Patrol Boat HH65/60 – CG helicopter i I. High Seas Drift Net Enforcement The U.S. Coast Guard, the Canadian Air Force, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada joined forces, resuming dedicated HSDN patrol flights in the North Pacific in April. The joint efforts control illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing in the North Pacific Ocean and will continue through the summer. The primary monitoring platforms are long-range search aircraft including Air Station Kodiak HC- 130s and Canadian Air Force CP140 Auroras. These fixed winged aircraft carry U.S. and Canadian enforcement officials Figure 1. High Seas Drift Net Aircraft Search Area who identify and report suspected illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing vessels for subsequent interdiction by the U.S. Coast Guard’s Pacific Area cutters. Russia’s Federal Border Service and Japan’s Maritime Safety Agency also assist in the interdiction efforts. This multinational enforcement operation has served as a model of international cooperation for protecting fish stocks in the North Pacific. The annual detection and enforcement operation has helped to reduce IUU fish harvesting in international waters of the North Pacific significantly since the mid-1990s. So far during the 2005 operation, three vessels have been detected and identified fitting the profile of high seas driftnet operations, but not were not observed actively engaged in fishing. Fishing with a high seas drift net is just one form of IUU fishing. Vessels suspected of participating in IUU fishing Presumed Squid HSDN Vessel Name Thought To Be: Zhuu Shan were identified and reported for subsequent interdiction by appropriate agencies. For example, the patrols detected several vessels loitering just outside the Russian EEZ that are now suspected of laundering fish taken illegally from Russian waters. For the reporting period, the following details apply: • Canadian Coast Guard flew 17 sorties totaling 180 hours. • U.S. Coast Guard HC-130’s flew 3 sorties totaling 18 hours. • 2 Suspect Vessels Detected 1 II. US/Russian Maritime Boundary Line (MBL) Enforcement Although the Russian Pollock season in the area adjacent to the MBL opened in mid-May, very little activity has occurred so far this year. Light fishing activity limited the need for cutter coverage for most of the reporting period, and Coast Guard enforcement resources detected no incursions. Figure 2 provides a plot of foreign fishing vessel activity near the MBL. Figure 3 shows the trend in historic fishing effort along the MBL. For the reporting period, the following details apply: Figure 2. 13 MAY 05 MBL Scatter Plot of Vessels Sighted by HC-130’s • Coast Guard HC-130’s flew 3 sorties totaling 22 hours. • Coast Guard WHEC/WMECs spent 9 days patrolling the MBL. Figure 3. 2000-2005 MBL Max Detections 0-20 NM in RS EEZ Maximum Monthly Detections of Vessels Within 20NM of MBL 100 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan *Figure 3 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 No fishing vessel activity was detected in the Donut Hole during the reporting period. The Seventeenth District has received no notices for proposed trial fishing for the remainder of 2005. IV. Dixon Entrance The Seventeenth Coast Guard District participated in a U.S.-Canada border enforcement meeting last month in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. This meeting is held annually as part of the 1990 US-CA fisheries enforcement agreement to address enforcement issues along the disputed boundary area in Dixon Entrance. Discussions at this working level meeting included: review of 2004 season, projected fisheries openings and closures, expected patrol effort, customs issues, counter drug enforcement issues, and maritime transportation security. Salmon fishing in this area by Canadian fishermen is expected to be limited again this year with some minor effort expected from mid-July through early August. V. Steller Sea Lions and Critical Habitat Enforcement The Coast Guard continues to assist NMFS’s in management activities to insure that 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, monitoring the western population of rookeries and haulouts starting at Cape St Elias and extending out the Aleutian Chain and into the Bering Sea. Cutters logged 478 monitoring hours, and aircraft patrolled 28 hours in support of this mission. The USCGC Mustang detected the S/V Endurance in the Marmot Island No-Transit area. The Mustang subsequently boarded the vessel and issued a violation. 3 VI. CGD17 Commercial Fishing Vessel Boarding Statistics The following charts show boarding and fishery violation trends. Violations during the reporting-period, overall remained relatively low with most being minor. Figure 4. Fisheries Boardings Figure 5. Fisheries Violations Fisheries Boardings By Year 1200 Fisheries Violations By Year At-Sea Docksides 100 1000 90 91 466 80 800 70 70 60 600 152 165 125 50 102 74 54 183 47 50 40 44 76 40 400 30 36 656 529 542 22 496 484 462 20 23 409 200 377 273 10 0 0 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 15 MAR 2004 – MAY 2004 15 MAR 2005 – MAY 2005 All F/V Boardings (at sea):...................172 All F/V Boardings (at sea): ...............112 IFQ Monitors (dockside): .......................41 IFQ Monitors (dockside):....................14 Boarding/monitor w/fisheries vio’s: .......21 Boarding/monitor w/fisheries vio’s:......9 Violation Rate:................................... 9.9% Violation Rate: ................................7.1% During the reporting period, there were nine violations. All nine of the fisheries violations were IFQ related and are discussed in the next section. There were seven voyage terminations for safety violations. Five of the voyage terminations involved insufficient survival craft on-board. One termination was for failure to carry sufficient fire extinguishers and one was for insufficient survival suits. Several vessels were also issued violation notices and warnings for minor safety discrepancies. Appendices A and B contain a complete list of boardings and violations for the reporting period. VII. IFQ At-Sea/Dockside Enforcement The 2005 IFQ season continued without significant incidents. All nine of the fisheries violations this period were IFQ-related (six at-sea and three dockside). There were two summary settlements