Proceedings magazine is a communication tool for the Coast Guard's Marine Safety & Security Council. Each quarterly magazine focuses on a specific theme of interest to the marine industry.
Issue link: https://uscgproceedings.epubxp.com/i/284910
29 Spring 2014 Proceedings www.uscg.mil/proceedings Canadian Coast Guard dedicate open-ocean surveillance fights that provide cuing data for USCG high-endurance cutter patrols. These ships and aircraft are primarily on the lookout for large-scale, high-seas drift net fshing, a practice that utilizes enormous nets suspended for miles in open water and indiscriminately kills large amounts of fsh and other marine life such as porpoise and turtles. In addition, numerous bilateral and multilateral operations and exercises have focused on transnational crime, mari- time security, and maritime governance issues including anti-piracy and armed robbery against ships, drug interdic- tion, migrant interdiction, marine safety, and environmental protection. Ultimately, the North Pacifc Coast Guard Forum is about economy of force and securing cooperation that promotes collaboration with maritime operations in the vast expanse of the Pacifc. "The North Pacifc Coast Guard Forum rep- resents exactly the type of multilateral security cooperation that is called for in the Pacifc region," said Rear Admiral Charles Ray, deputy commander, U.S. Coast Guard Pacifc Area. "It is essential to ensure the free exchange of commerce, the mutual stewardship of living marine resources, and the mutual safeguarding of member nations from illegal traffcking." About the author: Mr. Michael Argüelles has more than 22 years of military service in many capacities, most notably as a marine safety/prevention off- cer. He currently serves as the international affairs specialist at U.S. Coast Guard Pacifc Area and participates in the North Pacifc Coast Guard Forum, as overall coordinator and in the Secretariat Work- ing Group. Mr. Argüelles also acts as the North Pacifc Coast Guard Forum conduit to the PACAREA senior staff, DCO-I, and Coast Guard districts, and supports forum exercises and operations. USCG Rear Admiral Charles Ray, right, speaks with Korea Coast Guard Senior Superintendent In Tae Yeo and Senior Police Offcer Son Young Im at a North Pacifc Coast Guard Forum meeting. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Mr. Michael Argüelles. North Pacifc Coast Guard Forum delegations meet. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Mr. Michael Argüelles. Success Stories In July 2012, the crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Rush, with Chinese Fisheries Law Enforcement Command, embarked shipriders, sighted a Chinese fshing vessel in the North Pacifc Ocean, and boarded the vessel in accordance with the Western and Central Pacifc Fisheries Commission's high seas boarding and inspection procedures. As a result, the fshing vessel was seized for large-scale high-seas drift net fshing. The vessel was targeting albacore tuna, using 10 miles of large-scale drift nets and had already caught about 30 metric tons of albacore tuna during its current trip. In addition, Rush crew members found six metric tons of shark bodies and fns onboard the vessel. Upon seizing the vessel, the 17 th Coast Guard District transferred custody to two patrol vessels from the China Fishery Law Enforcement Command. In September 2011, the U.S. Coast Guard received a report from Japanese ofcials stating one of their aircraft had sighted two vessels engaged in illegal drift net fshing. Photographs captured two Indonesian-fagged vessels actively fshing in a conservation area. The Coast Guard Cutter Munro deployed in response, and crew members boarded one of the vessels, under the authority of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission Boarding and Inspection scheme, as Indonesia is a cooper- ating nonmember and the vessel was in clear violation of conservation and management measures prohibiting large- scale pelagic drift net fshing. Munro's crew also deterred the other vessel actively engaged in high-seas drift net fshing, but was unable to intercept and conduct a boarding. Spring2014_FINAL.indd 29 3/21/14 11:14 AM