Coast Guard, Navy conduct joint Oceania Maritime Security Initiative mission

U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 02/28/2017 06:19 PM EST

united states coast guard 

News Release  

Feb. 28, 2017
U.S. Coast Guard 14th District Hawaii and the Pacific
Contact: 14th District Public Affairs
Office: (808) 535-3230
After Hours: (808) 341-9849

Coast Guard, Navy conduct joint Oceania Maritime Security Initiative mission

170215-N-PP996-141 PACIFIC OCEAN (Feb. 15, 2017) Members from U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 103 observe the fishing process of a foreign flagged fishing vessel during an Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI) boarding mission. The OMSI program is a Secretary of Defense program leveraging Department of Defense assets transiting the region to increase the Coast Guard's maritime domain awareness, ultimately supporting its maritime law enforcement operations in Oceania. Michael Murphy is on a regularly scheduled Western Pacific deployment with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group as part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet-led initiative to extend the command and control functions of U.S. 3rd Fleet. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Danny Kelley/Released)   170207-N-PP996-127 PACIFIC OCEAN (Feb. 7, 2017) Members from U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 103 ensure catch amounts are consistent with fishing logs during an Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI) boarding mission. The OMSI program is a secretary of defense program leveraging Department of Defense assets transiting the region to increase the Coast Guard's maritime domain awareness, ultimately supporting its maritime law enforcement operations in Oceania. Michael Murphy is on a regularly scheduled Western Pacific deployment with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group as part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet-led initiative to extend the command and control functions of U.S. 3rd Fleet. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Danny Kelley/Released)   170208-N-PP996-022 PACIFIC OCEAN (Feb. 8, 2017) Members from U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 103 approach a foreign flagged fishing vessel during an Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI) boarding mission. The OMSI program is a secretary of defense program leveraging Department of Defense assets transiting the region to increase the Coast Guard's maritime domain awareness, ultimately supporting its maritime law enforcement operations in Oceania. Michael Murphy is on a regularly scheduled Western Pacific deployment with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group as part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet-led initiative to extend the command and control functions of U.S. 3rd Fleet. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Danny Kelley/Released)

Editors' Note: Click on images to download high resolution version.

HONOLULU — The Coast Guard and Navy completed a 18-day joint mission in the Central and South Pacific under the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative to combat transnational crimes, enforce fisheries laws and enhance regional security, Friday.

Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 103 from Pacific Tactical Law Enforcement Team embarked USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) and conducted 16 fisheries enforcement boardings with the assistance of the ship’s visit, board, search and seizure team and law enforcement ship riders from Tuvalu and Nauru.

Five of the boardings were conducted on the high seas under the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission guidelines while the other 11 were conducted in the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of Tuvalu and Nauru.

Coast Guard teams and Pacific Island Nation shipriders routinely conduct joint boardings within the host country's exclusive economic zones to protect the ocean and the living marine resources within.

Boarding teams inspected documentation and fish holds for illegal activity and compliance with conservation and management measures.

"Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing undermines efforts to conserve and manage global fish stocks," said Coast Guard Cmdr. Richard Howes, chief of enforcement, Coast Guard 14th District response division. "The OMSI mission along with our partnerships with Australia, New Zealand, France, and Pacific Island Nations helps deter illegal fishing and promote economic and environmental stability in the region."

Partnership between the Coast Guard and Navy supports OMSI, a Secretary of Defense program to use Department of Defense assets transiting the pacific region to build maritime domain awareness, ultimately supporting the Coast Guard's maritime law enforcement operations in Oceania.

“Like our forefathers who sailed these waters years ago, the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard partnership remains a formidable maritime force,” said Cmdr. Robert A. Heely Jr., commanding officer of Michael Murphy. “We enjoyed working alongside the U.S. Coast Guard as well as the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency and our partners from Tuvalu and Nauru. It was a true team effort, and I am proud of team Murphy’s resilience and professionalism in accomplishing the mission.”

The Coast Guard is responsible for patrolling the waters around the numerous islands belonging to the United States throughout the region. Each of these islands has territorial waters stretching out to 12 nautical miles from shore.

Beyond that, stretching out to 200 nautical miles is an exclusive economic zone, an area defined by international law that allows each nation exclusive rights to the exploration and use of the marine resources within. Oceania contains 43 percent, or approximately 1.3 million square miles, of United States' EEZs.

 

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