On December 10, the Palau Division of Marine Legislation Enforcement labored with the U.S. Coast Guard to apprehend a suspected unlawful fishing vessel off Helen Reef – the most recent instance of the Coast Guard’s position in supporting the rule of legislation within the Western Pacific.
On December 9, Palau officers close to Helen Reef reported an 80-foot Chinese language vessel fishing illegally. Working with the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. World Protection Reform Program contractor at Palau’s Maritime Legislation Heart, the crew of the patrol boat Remeliik II was dispatched from Koror to apprehend the vessel. The U.S. Coast Guard dispatched an HC-130 Hercules search aircraft out of Hawaii’s Air Station Barbers Level and the Coast Guard Cutter Myrtle Hazard out of Guam to assist the mission.
The mission was the primary carried out by the Remeliik II, a brand new patrol boat equipped to Palau below Australia’s Pacific Maritime Safety Program. Myrtle Hazard joined Remeliik II and carried out the vessel boarding. The fishing vessel and its 28 crew members had been introduced again to Koror and are at anchor whereas the investigation continues.
The boat had about 500 kilos of sea cucumber on board, and the crew is suspected of harvesting it illegally in Palau’s waters. Sea cucumber fetches as much as $1,700 per pound in some Asian markets.
“Our bilateral agreements with Palau and different island nations are proving extremely impactful,” mentioned Cmdr. Jason Model, the Coast Guard Fourteenth District Chief of Enforcement. “If IUU fishing continues unchecked, we will anticipate a deterioration of fragile coastal States, collapse of vital fish inventory populations and elevated pressure amongst foreign-fishing nations, threatening geopolitical stability all over the world.”
Fisheries enforcement is a part of the Coast Guard’s position in supporting the rule of legislation within the Western Pacific – one ingredient of U.S. maritime providers’ technique to counter Chinese language efforts to undermine the rules-based order at sea. “It’s extra essential than ever that the worldwide neighborhood stands collectively for the rule of legislation and insists on higher environmental stewardship from Beijing,” mentioned U.S. Ambassador to Palau John Hennessey-Niland.
“The Coast Guard believes in a rules-based strategy to maritime governance,” mentioned Rear Admiral Matthew Sibley, Commander, Fourteenth Coast Guard District. “The U.S. wants a broad community of companions to eradicate this menace to our collective prosperity. Collectively, we will highlight unhealthy actors and root out this illicit conduct.”