NOAA Seeks Comment on Law Enforcement Priorities
Law enforcement officers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) are charged with protecting marine habitats, enforcing laws that protect and conserve the nation’s oceans, and ensuring a level playing field for U.S. fisherman, among other tasks.
Recently, NOAA OLE released a strategic plan for its law enforcement priorities at the Fisheries unit for 2023 to 2027.
NOAA is seeking public comment on the plan through April 17, 2023.
The law enforcement priorities were developed through an extensive stakeholder engagement process and uses historical data, emerging threat information, and other methods to identify areas to increase enforcement.
NOAA Fisheries says the priorities will “help our enforcement team accomplish its mission, guide its strategic planning, and focus the use of law enforcement assets where they are most needed.”
The plan identifies several national priorities:
Sustainable Fisheries
To promote healthy, productive, and sustainable living marine resources, OLE wants to increase compliance and enforcement of fishing regulations by emphasizing investigations and ensuring the integrity of observer data.
In addition, NOAA OLE will prioritize investigations involving violations of gear restrictions and closed-area regulations, landing requirements, and inaccurate data reporting.
Protected Resources
To foster its mission of protecting endangered species, NOAA OLE will continue to focus on enforcement of bycatch reduction, gear, and area regulations designed to conserve protected species, as well as enforcement of unlawful human interactions with protected species and marine protected areas.
NOAA OLE will focus on areas that are particularly vulnerable.
IUU Fishing/International
To cut down on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, NOAA OLE plans to increase coordination between the U.S. Government and foreign partners and enhance monitoring of marine fishing operations.
The office also pledges to deter IUU fish and fish products from entering U.S. markets and to prosecute those who profit from such activity. NOAA OLE says it will continue to work with the U.S. Coast Guard to aggressively enforce the law.
Seafood Fraud
NOAA OLE plans to increase efforts to deter and detect seafood that is deceptively mislabeled by working with international partners and other federal agencies on strengthening seafood fraud detection.
NOAA OLE will also implement the Seafood Import Monitoring Program and other NOAA trade monitoring programs to ensure safe and fraud-free supply chains.
Wildlife Trafficking
NOAA OLE will identify fish and other marine wildlife taken illegally and transported. OLE says it will continue deployments of enforcement personnel to strategic ports of entry as well as continue efforts to investigate the illegal trafficking of marine mammals and endangered species.
Outreach and Education
NOAA OLE plans to conduct regular outreach and education initiatives about new regulations and protecting marine habitats. That includes partnering with federal and state partners to promote compliance.
In addition to the national priorities, NOAA OLE is also proposing law enforcement priorities for its five regional divisions: Alaska, the Northeast, the Pacific Islands, the Southeast, and the West Coast.
Public input, concerns, and feedback on any portion of the plan can be submitted here through April 17, 2023.