Editor's Note: Click images to download
PHILADELPHIA – One hundred miles off the New Jersey coastline, the waters were vast and seemingly endless.
To the untrained eye, it was a serene stretch of blue, a world away from the bustling Jersey Shore. But amongst waves was a high-stakes arena where living marine resources (LMR) law enforcement took place.
The Coast Guard’s LMR mission affects seafood enthusiasts and fishermen alike. A succulent seafood dinner cannot make it to a plate until the fishermen catch it, and it’s the Coast Guard’s mission to ensure those fish are caught legally.
From Dec. 9 to Dec. 13, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Angela McShan and its 25 crewmembers took to the Atlantic to carry out an LMR law enforcement patrol, ensuring the sustainability of the ocean's resources and enforcing federal regulations designed to protect marine ecosystems and commercial fishing livelihoods.
“Our mission is critical to protecting the natural resources within the mid-Atlantic fisheries,” said the cutter’s commanding officer, Lt. Gregory Schmidt, “especially ensuring the natural resources are sustained and also that there’s a balance of the economic profit and the balance of the commercial fisheries within the area.”
The Coast Guard is the lead federal maritime law enforcement agency and the only agency with both the authority and capability to enforce national and international law on the high seas, outer continental shelf, and inward from the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to inland waters.
During this deployment, the crew conducted five boardings for fisheries and served as a stronghold of maritime law enforcement.
Armed Coast Guardsmen boarded the fishing vessels using the cutter’s over the horizon (OTH V) small boat, the only fast response cutter (FRC) in the fleet currently using this updated prototype OTH.
“Out here we’re conducting inspections on commercial fishing vessels,” said Petty Officer First Class Christopher Banka, a boarding officer. “As far as the fish, we’re looking at sizes, quantity, and ensuring that the vessels have their proper certifications and documentation.”
The goal for the week was clear: to ensure fishing operators complied with federal regulations while fostering mutual respect and cooperation.
“The biggest thing we’re looking for are the targeted species,” said the cutter’s executive officer, LTJG Joseph Roth. “District Five provides us with a lookout list with known high-risk targets and repeat offenders. We’re also looking for those targeted species and the area of the ocean where typical good fishing grounds are.”
While some vessels were found to be fully compliant, other were not.
“A lot of times we've run into people just fishing with the wrong type of gear,” said Roth. “This trip, we had someone fishing with a net that was too small. We caught it and we’re protecting our fisheries by doing that. With a smaller net, they’re catching a lot more things that they’re not supposed to be catching.”
As the crew’s deployment showed, it’s not just the fish themselves that are of interest, but also the equipment on the vessels.
“We’ve also run into some safety equipment violations,” said Roth. “There’s been expired flares, personal flotation devices that are unserviceable. So, we’re indirectly saving a life by ensuring these vessels have the correct equipment on board.”
As Schmidt explained, the Coast Guard is not only searching for illegal fishing during these boardings but also inspecting the vessels to prevent casualties.
“This fisheries mission is important because we get to see immediate impact on the federal fisheries and safety aspect,” said Schmidt. “When we get on these boats, we not only check their fish but also check they are in compliance with their safety equipment. Ultimately, we’re protecting their lives to make sure they’re not a search and rescue case.”
According to Roth, every single crew member contributes to the fisheries mission while underway.
“We have our cooks out there helping to launch the small boat,” said Roth. “We’ve got our engineers on the small boat and out doing boardings. Our boatswain's mates are doing the same thing. Every single person is involved in the law enforcement effort as well as the effort to keep the ship running and conducting maintenance.”
Amid the patrol, swells reached upwards of 10 feet with subfreezing temperatures.
For the crew, the Atlantic conditions are simply part of the job.
“It can get pretty rough out there,” said Roth. “Especially getting on and off the small boat and onto the vessels. You’ve really got to take precautions, and you don’t know what kind of deck you’re climbing on to.”
Despite the challenges, the crew successfully conducted the five boardings over the five-day deployment.
“One of the biggest challenges we face is the weather windows when these fisheries are open,” said Schmidt. “Often, we have to strategically plan to get offshore amidst the weather. Our main goal is to be able to target these guys when it’s safe to go out there and the maximum available targets out there with the weather and fisheries being open.”
LMR law enforcement is a duty under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Endangered Species Act and several other federal laws focused on the protection of marine resources.
The core objective of these efforts is to provide enforcement to advance national goals for the conservation, management, and recovery of living marine resources, marine protected species, and national marine sanctuaries and monuments. This includes the enforcement of LMR regulations in addition to numerous other activities that strengthen both domestic and international fisheries management regimes.
The Maritime Law Enforcement program protects America’s maritime borders from encroachment, defends the country’s maritime sovereignty from illicit activity, facilitates legitimate use of the waterways, and suppresses violations of federal law on, under and over the high seas and waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
The Angela McShan, a Sentinel-class FRC homeported in Cape May, New Jersey, is named after the first African American female master chief in Coast Guard history. True to its namesake's legacy, the vessel exemplifies service, vigilance, and dedication.
The FRC’s have recently been tasked and given the tools to find the top producers of the commercial fisheries, which allows them to target the vessels that are seeking the most fish.
“The crew are skilled operators fully aware of the challenges, risk, and importance of the enforcement efforts,” said Schmidt. “It’s something that we take pride in and something that we know has an immediate impact economically—not only among the Coast Guard’s statutory missions but also in terms of protecting the natural resources.”
-USCG-