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Navy P-3 Squadron Supports Island Chief 2010, Deters Illegal Fishing in Pacific

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100823-04
8/23/2010

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Corwin Colbert, Joint Region Marianas Public Affairs

PACIFIC OCEAN (NNS) -- The Patrol Squadron (VP) 9 Golden Eagles, currently deployed to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, participated in Operation Island Chief 2010 on Guam Aug. 15-22.

Island Chief is the largest annual multinational maritime security surveillance operation in the Pacific theater. Part of a Quadrilateral Defense Group (QUAD) including the United States, Australia, New Zealand and France, Island Chief aims to improve interoperability with Pacific island nations and increase maritime security awareness, enhancing the abilities of all parties involved to enforce laws in the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.

VP 9 service member assisted U.S. Coast Guard District 14, the U.S. Pacific commanders executive agent to the QUAD, during the exercise by providing increased maritime domain awareness of fishing vessels operating in the region.

"We get our tasks of what area to patrol, and then we go out and establish communications with the ship," said Lt. Luke Reed, VP 9 assistant operations officer. "We can go a lot further and faster than their ships can, so we give them a bigger maritime picture than they can see using Automatic Identification System (AIS) alone."

The U.S. Navy is committed to providing assistance to the Coast Guard and to the agencies to help mitigate threat to stability and prosperity. Illegal commercial fishing disrupts economic prosperity, which can destabilize many small countries dependent on the fishing industry as an important part of their economy.

"This mission is very important," said Lt. Cmdr. Ed Arnold, safety officer and pilot of the P-3 Orion used during the mission. "We work with other countries and show them how to protect their economic zones."

The specific operational areas of Island Chief are the EEZs of the Republic of Palau, Kirbati, Federal States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Nauru and Papua New Guinea, and the seas adjacent to these areas.

The P-3 Orion used to conduct the missions is a four-engine turboprop, anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft. Equipment used includes a camera that can zoom in and visually identify the vessels and hull numbers.

Additionally, VP 9 and the respective maritime law enforcement agencies use AIS to track illegal fishing vessels. AIS is an automated tracking system used on ships and by Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) for identifying and locating vessels by electronically exchanging data with other nearby ships and VTS stations. AIS information supplements marine radar, which continues to be the primary method of collision avoidance for water transport.