USCG, Marshalls in joint fisheries enforcement mission

HONOLULU-The crew of the Coast Guard cutter Jarvis and representatives from the Republic of the Marshall Islands will exercise a bilateral agreement to enforce the fisheries laws of the region during a joint operation following a visit to the island of Majuro Monday. Shipriders from the Marshall Islands will embark on the Jarvis to assist in patrolling the Marshall Islands’ exclusive economic zone against illegal fishing activities.

A Marshall Islands Sea Patrol officer and a Marshall Islands Marine Resources Administration representative will conduct unified surveillance and interdiction operations while aboard the Jarvis. This partnership will exercise the U.S. and Republic of the Marshall Islands’ bilateral agreement concerning cooperation to enforce the Marshall Islands exclusive economic zone. The objective of the bilateral agreement is to strengthen ongoing cooperative maritime surveillance and interdiction activities between the two parties to identify and prevent illicit transnational maritime activity. This effort is aimed at sustaining the international tuna fishery.

Rear Adm. Charles W. Ray, commander of the 14th Coast Guard District, and the crew of the Jarvis, are scheduled to conduct community outreach and official engagements during their visit to Majuro. The Jarvis’s crew plans to visit local elementary and high schools and take part in games of basketball and volleyball.

Ray will meet with Marshall Islands government officials and agency representatives, including members of the Port Security and Search and Rescue Committees, Marshall Islands Marine Resources Agency, and Ambassador Martha Campbell. Two key items of discussion will be search and rescue cooperation and the shiprider agreement between the U.S. and Marshall Islands.

The Jarvis is a 378-foot high endurance cutter homeported in Honolulu. By implementing the bilateral agreement, the Jarvis and its crew will be ensuring the prosperity of the region by protecting the marine ecosystems and natural resources important to the national economy and essential to the livelihood and way of life for coastal communities. The agreement that allows shipriders to patrol their country’s exclusive economic zone aboard Coast Guard vessels and aircraft is part of the 14th Coast Guard District’s ongoing Fight for Fish initiative to deter illegal fishing activities. (USCG)