Hawai'i Fisheries Initiative - The Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs

Violations of marine-related laws can range
from Magnuson-Stevens, Endangered
Species Act, and Lacey Act violations to
shark finning, seabird mitigation measures,
recordkeeping and reporting, or fishing
in closed areas or off-season. 234 Fisheries
enforcement involves two main areas:
dockside and at sea, with important state
and federal jurisdictional issues coming
into play. 235 The U.S. Coast Guard’s most
effective means of at-sea enforcement
is use of its aviation equipment; it also
conducts at-sea boardings. 236 Main
enforcement measures include:
u Vessel-based patrols and at-sea boarding 237
u Aerial monitoring – a limitation is that such
observation does not confirm possession
of prohibited species; however, USCG
C-130s can query vessels to determine their
activities and follow up with boarding 238
u Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) 239 – satellite
tracking of vessels reduces the need for
costly at-sea and air patrols. 240 VMS shows
the whereabouts of vessels, and their
identity and activity. 241 NOAA Fisheries
Service Office for Law Enforcement and the
USCG monitor VMS data (Wespac is also
an authorized user); longline vessels are
required to activate the units when leaving
port (If vessels are spotted but are not
transmitting, that would be a violation). 242
VMS indicates that longline sets are being
made; the information can be confirmed
via catch logs, master’s statements, and
vessel boarding. For fisheries management
54