Feature Story

U.S. Coast Guard story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Anthony Soto

Far removed from the public eye, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, an international war is raging. The stakes of which are high, not only for the local populations, but for the world. At the center of the conflict lie one of the world’s richest fishing grounds. Not only are they filled with a variety of species tied to the health of the ocean, they are the driving force behind a multi-million dollar industry sustaining many Central and South Pacific nations. Meanwhile in other areas of the Pacific, depleted fish stocks are driving fishermen to the Central and South Pacific with the intention of taking what they can for personal gain and profit. The Pacific nations, having limited resources, find it difficult to stop these incursions. But partnerships between the U.S. Coast Guard have strengthened their defenses. This fight has placed the Coast Guard in the Pacific on the front lines of what is has been coined the “Fight for Fish”.      

At the center of this issue are the many nations in the Central and South Pacific. These include the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Christmas Island, the Cook Islands, American Samoa and many other small island nations and territories. Each of these nations has in place an Exclusive Economic Zone to protect their fish stocks. The construct of an EEZ began nearly four decades ago in an effort to stem declining fish stocks and protect the essential natural resources of the oceans from the incursion of other nations. In 1976, after a series of confrontations between Iceland and Great Britain over fishing rights, a compromise was reached and a 200-nautical mile EEZ was established around Iceland’s waters. These regulations were included in the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention; however the U.S. has not yet ratified nor is party to UNCLOS, but does, under customary international law, accept the provisions including EEZ’s. In that same year, the U.S. Congress passed the Fishery Conservation and Management Act, known today as the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which established U.S. authority over the 200-nautical mile EEZ off the U.S. coastlines and established the nation’s eight Regional Fishery Management Councils to legally protect U.S. fish stocks.

The fish stocks at the center of the Fight for Fish fall into the category of pelagic species, which include tunas, scombridae, sail fish, sword fish and marlins. Pelagic fish live primarily within the temperate waters of the world’s oceans, including the Pacific and conduct long migrations, going as far north as Japan and as far south as New Zealand. One issue of concern is the fact that migratory patterns of these fish can cross areas which do not have EEZ regulations established. This allows substantial numbers of fish to be caught when schools migrate from one place with regulations to a place which has none. For this reason, preventing illegal fishing within EEZ’s is especially important. Invasive unregulated fishing and can potentially lead to the disappearance of many fish species.

“Illegal fishermen come from any country and use all manner of vessels to encroach into EEZ’s,” said Lt. Cmdr. Jay Caputo, Chief of response for the 14th Coast Guard District. “They don’t pay for licenses or have an investment in managing the fishery.”

Caputo also presented a possible outcome of illegal fishing’s effect on one of these countries,

“You’re going to have a situation where there’s increased stress, there’s going to be people in distress and you may start to see the movement of people at that point.”

The island nations of the Central and South Pacific fall under the Western Pacific Council and agreements have been put in place for assistance in defending their EEZs. As a measure of support the United States and the U.S. Coast Guard have taken an initiative to assist these countries in patrolling and protecting their EEZ’s in order to help protect the fish stocks, create and maintain stability in the region and help build better relations throughout the Pacific.

Most recently the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Rush and a helicopter aircrew from Air Station Barbers Point deployed across the South and Central Pacific over a period of more than two months beginning in mid October 2010. But the defense of EEZs is a joint endeavor between the Coast Guard, which provides assets like the 378-foot High Endurance Cutter Rush, and the law enforcement representatives of nations of the region. The Coast Guard has entered into six different agreements with six different countries, each of which has its own provisions and allows certain permissions. One such agreement allows agents to ride aboard Coast Guard Cutters to enforce their laws upon the seas around their nations with assets otherwise unavailable to them. Each area of patrol is different: some allow patrolling of the EEZ and the territorial sea, some allow only fisheries enforcement and some allow a wider scope of law enforcement. Because there is such diversity throughout the various countries in the Pacific, there is no all-encompassing agreement set. An International Ship Rider Agreement with the Cook Islands allows agents to ride aboard a Coast Guard cutter to assist in patrols and carry out specific actions according to their nations’ laws. This is just one example of a bilateral agreement established between the U.S. and each individual nation. Other nations have similar agreements in place.  

“The ship-rider agreement between our two countries is integral to our overall effort to effectively police our maritime zone and also enhances the knowledge and experience of our Police Maritime and Marine resources personnel who embark as ship-riders,” Ben Ponia, Secretary of Marine Resources for the Government of the Cook Islands said in a letter to the Coast Guard. “On behalf of the government and people of the Cook Islands, I would like to pass on our considerable appreciation for the surveillance patrol conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Rush in our Exclusive Economic Zone.”

The various island nations, U.S. territories and U.S. possessions patrolled by Rush included the Republic of Marshall Islands, American Samoa, Kiribati, the Cook Islands, Jarvis, Kingman and Palmyra. The Rush’s enforcement efforts resulted in the boarding of 38 ships, the patrol of six U.S. EEZ’s, and the exercise of three international ship-rider agreements. Of the 38 boardings completed by Rush law enforcement teams and their international partners, 41 violations were found aboard 25 different fishing vessels in several EEZ’s. In total the cutter steamed more than 14,000 nautical miles across the Western Pacific Ocean both north and south of the Equator.

“The ship-rider agreement, and the exercise of the ship-rider agreement, is just one way the United States can show support for these nations,” Capt. James L. McCauley, commanding officer of the cutter Rush said. “And it seems to be working exceptionally well.”

The successful patrol of the Rush shows that the Fight for Fish has measurable results. But the issue of protecting pelagic species within these EEZs is not over. As unmanaged fish stocks continue to decline in other parts of the ocean, fishermen from less bountiful areas will continue to search for richer fishing grounds, often within the EEZs of other nations. The challenge will be to create deterrence and enforcement in the foreseeable future.

“For enforcement, there needs to be adequate presence to create deterrence,” says Caputo.  “Catching more illegal fishermen will change the risk ratio, making it more costly to conduct illegal fishing operations.  Ultimately, if enforcement can create a level playing field for fishermen and protect the resource from illegal activity, the renewable fisheries resource should be sustainable indefinitely.”