Surveillance operation in FSM, Palau ends

Operation Rai Balang, a bilateral maritime surveillance operation between Palau and Federated States of Micronesia to detect activities such as illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, ended yesterday.

The operation was conducted over 10 days from May 2 to 12, 2009 over the Palauan and FSM Exclusive Economic Zones in their entirety.

This is the fifth Rai Balang conducted (the first was in 2006) and was the most complex to-date. Support was provided by a diverse number of agencies in dispersed locations, including Australian advisers (through the Defense Cooperation Program), U.S. Coast Guard agencies in Guam and Hawaii, and the U.S. Navy in Japan.

During the course of the operation FSM conducted sixteen boardings with five citations issued and apprehension of one vessel, and for Palau, six boardings with two vessels directed to port for further investigation.

Data was also collected on fishing activities in the high seas to the south of Palau. Another significant outcome was that a detailed set of instructions, procedures and communications architecture were tested as a possible permanent template for future small operations like this in the Pacific.

Lt. Cdr. Kimbal Dunsmore of the Royal Australian Navy said: “While we are still collating the results from this operation, I am excited about the outcomes, particularly how well all the agencies worked together. From what I saw, the right people were receiving the right information at the right time, which is the hardest thing to achieve in this sort of activity when close coordination is required between a number of different organizations from different nations. While we didn’t have any ‘big busts,’ my observation would be that if we are getting maritime surveillance and law enforcement right, it is the smallness of the number of apprehensions that is a measure that we are being effective.”

Palau’s Division of Marine Law Enforcement was the key planner for the operation with the FSM Maritime Wing and Pacific Patrol Boats FSS Palaikir and FSS Micronesia as the bilateral participants. Support was provided by USCG Sector Guam and USCG cutter Washington, USCG District Fourteen in Hawaii with a C-130 aircraft (based in Kwajelein, RMI) and US Navy CTF 72 with a P3-C (based in Guam). Australian support was provided by the Maritime Surveillance Advisers in Palau and FSM.

As the Palau Pacific Patrol Boat PSS H.I. Remeliik was unavailable for this operation and USCGC Washington conducted two maritime law enforcement patrols of Palau’s EEZ instead. A short patrol was also carried out by Washington in the FSM EEZ. These activities were possible as a result of cooperative maritime law enforcement agreements between Palau and FSM and the USCG.

The operation also used data sharing in the FFA Vessel Monitoring System, a satellite-based system which monitors the position, speed and direction of registered fishing vessels.[B][I] (PR)[/I][/B]