Fisheries Commission News

Australia plans to significantly boost surveillance of Pacific Islands territorial waters, spending A$477 million ($310.72 million) on aerial patrols for illegal fishing fleets, tender documents viewed by Reuters show, as China takes steps towards sending its coast guard to the region.Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will visit Fiji on Friday, the Fiji Times newspaper reported, after the government of Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka last week approved a maritime security…

Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA held a keel laying ceremony for USNS Billy Frank, Jr., marking the official start of construction on the U.S. Navy’s eleventh Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ship (T-ATS 11).Ship sponsor Peggen Frank and her husband, William Frank III, authenticated the keel by welding their initials into a keel plate that will be welded to the hull of the ship. They were assisted by Brandon Auld, a four-year Austal USA veteran A-class structural fitter.Local community leaders…

Papua New Guinea (PNG) has invited the USCGC Myrtle Hazard (WPC 1139) to join their lead in maritime operations to combat illegal fishing and safeguard maritime resources during August 2023.This marks the first time a joint patrol effort will be executed at sea since the signing and ratification of the recent bilateral defense agreement between PNG and the US, which allows the US to embark shipriders from PNG agencies aboard the ship to conduct at sea boardings on other vessels operating in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).The move emphasizes PNG’s commitment to maritime domain awareness…

Thuraya has responded to strong demand from the maritime sector and distributors by launching the MarineStar, an affordable maritime voice solution with advanced two-way tracking and monitoring capabilities.Designed by the world’s most innovative provider of mobile satellite communications, the MarineStar is Thuraya’s new flagship voice terminal for entry-level maritime users. It is based on the same successful platform as other Thuraya voice hardware that have sold in excess of 1 million units to date.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Ghana’s Acting Deputy Mission Director, Janean Davis said that United States is taking steps to improve fisheries in Ghana.Ms. Janean Davis, told the attendees in a conference in Ghana that “Together, we can help put in place the necessary structures and processes to consolidate the gains we’ve made in the fisheries sector over the past five years.”The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and the Fisheries Commission with support from the United States Government, through the USAID,  organized a three-day conference, from August 19-21, 2019, in Accra to highlight and discuss successes…

When it comes to fishing vessel safety, the mission is clear, says Sandra Allnutt of the International Maritime Organization (IMO): enhance safety to save lives. “We want to reduce loss of life in one of the most dangerous professions in the world, and we want to enhance safety on board fishing vessels,” said Ms Allnutt, Head of Maritime Technology in IMO’s Maritime Safety Division, following a regional seminar, in Cape Town, South Africa, to promote ratification and implementation of a key fishing vessel safety treaty known as the Cape Town Agreement of 2012. “This Agreement, once fully ratified, in force and implemented, will be an internationally binding agreement which will facilitate better control of fishing vessel safety by flag, port and coastal States.

The U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy completed an 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. 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.

exactEarth Ltd. has been selected by the Fisheries Commission (West Africa Regional Fisheries Programme), an agency of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MOFAD) of the Government of Ghana, for the provision of Satellite AIS data services as well as a small vessel tracking solution. The contract value is in a range of $1.0-$2.0 million for a 12 month period and will enable Ghana to acquire the technology necessary to monitor its expansive coastlines and deter illegal fishing in its national waters. Along with a comprehensive Satellite AIS data feed, exactEarth will provide MOFAD with 450 Class B AIS transceivers to be installed on inshore fishing vessels which will be tracked via satellite utilising exactEarth’s exactTrax small vessel tracking technology.

U.S. and Ghanaian and maritime forces completed Africa Maritime Law Enforcement Partnership (AMLEP) 2015 operations, Feb. 24, 2015. The Military Sealift Command’s joint high-speed vessel USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) and an embarked combined law enforcement detachment (LEDET), working in tandem with Ghanaian navy’s Western Naval Command Maritime Operations Center (MOC) and patrol vessels, were able to detect three vessels that were violating Ghanaian maritime law and cite them for follow-on judicial action. The combined Ghana-U.S. efforts—another example of the Global Network of Navies—improves interoperability between both nations and helps deter illicit activity that threatens freedom and security in the global commons.

The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Rush returned to its homeport following a successful 72-day deployment in the Central and Western Pacific, Monday. Rush departed in July 2014 and spent the last two months conducting operations in the Central and Western Pacific. During the deployment, Rush’s crew coordinated with multiple countries and partner agencies to conduct fisheries boardings in support of the Coast Guard’s living marine resources mission. Rush also participated in international engagement activities in American Samoa, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia. Rush enforced U.S. foreign fishing laws utilizing embarked shipriders from Tonga, Tuvalu, and Nauru. Rush also enforced Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission regulations.

Following a three-year record of improved results from Port State Control (PSC) inspections, the London-headquartered St Kitts & Nevis International Ship Registry (SKANReg) has moved up to Grey List ranking on the Paris MoU performance lists covering Europe and the North Atlantic. With 24 detentions from 307 inspections in the period 2011-2013, the registry now sits midway in a spectrum ranging from White List flags – those with a consistently low detention record – to poorly performing Black List flags.

NOAA Fisheries is proposing rules for lobstering in federal waters from Maine to North Carolina. The rules are intended to complement lobster management measures developed by the interstate commission that manages lobster fishing in state waters. Lobsters are overfished and at significant risk of sharp decline because of very high fishing pressure. The rules propose federal managers adopt the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's approach to management, and NOAA Fisheries implement in federal waters complementary measures to end overfishing and rebuild the lobster resource. The federal managers will utilize the industry management teams set up by the state commission to develop the necessary conservation measures.

NOAA Fisheries is proposing rules for lobstering in federal waters from Maine to North Carolina. The rules are intended to complement lobster management measures developed by the interstate commission that manages lobster fishing in state waters. Lobsters are overfished and at significant risk of sharp decline because of very high fishing pressure. The rules propose federal managers adopt the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's approach to management, and NOAA Fisheries implement in federal waters complementary measures to end overfishing and rebuild the lobster resource. The federal managers will utilize the industry management teams set up by the state commission to develop the necessary conservation measures.

NOAA Fisheries is proposing rules for lobstering in federal waters from Maine to North Carolina. The rules are intended to complement lobster management measures developed by the interstate commission that manages lobster fishing in state waters. Lobsters are overfished and at significant risk of sharp decline because of very high fishing pressure. The rules propose federal managers adopt the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's approach to management, and NOAA Fisheries implement in federal waters complementary measures to end overfishing and rebuild the lobster resource. The federal managers will utilize the industry management teams set up by the state commission to develop the necessary conservation measures.