NOAA Fisheries Office for Law Enforcement Special Agents and Enforcement Officers perform a variety of tasks associated with the protection and conservation of our nation's living marine resources.

OLE Special Agents and Enforcement conduct complex criminal and civil investigations, board vessels fishing at sea, inspect fish processing plants, review sales of wildlife products on the internet and conduct patrols on land, in the air and at sea.

The individual OLE Special Agent and Enforcement Officer rely on their FLETC training, seamanship skills, emerging technologies and close partnerships with various local, state, tribal, Federal and international law enforcement partners to protect over 3.36 million square miles of water and enforce international treaties on the high seas.

In FY 03, OLE special agents and enforcement officers spent over 102,720 hours investigating thousands of cases.

While a vast majority of commercial and recreational fishermen comply with the enacted conservation measures, there are still those fishermen - both domestic and foreign - which attempt to thwart the law and conduct fraudulent business. In recent years, the OLE has stepped up its presence in the international scene as more and more fish are imported and exported into and out of the United States.

Major fishing companies, commercial fishermen, recreational boaters and sport fishermen and other ocean users are ultimately responsible for the conservation of the ocean, therefore they must be vigilant of their actions which might inflict damage upon the numerous ecosystems within our oceans.

While catches are usually seized at the onset of an investigation, violators can also be assessed both civil penalties and criminal fines; and on occasion boats are seized and individuals are sent to Federal prison.

NOAA Fisheries agents and officers can assess civil penalties directly to the violator in the form of Summary Settlements (SS) or can refer the case to NOAA's Office of General Counsel for Enforcement and Litigation (GCEL).

GCEL can then assess a civil penalty in the form of a Notice of Permit Sanctions (NOPs) or Notice of Violation and Assessment (NOVAs), or they can refer the case to the U.S. Attorney's Office for criminal proceedings.

For perpetual violators or those whose actions have severe impacts upon the resource criminal charges may range from severe monetary fines, boat seizures and/or imprisonment may be levied by the United States Attorney's Office.

NOAA Fisheries Office for Law Enforcement Special Agents and Enforcement Officers perform a variety of tasks associated with the protection and conservation of our nation's living marine resources.

In order to enforce these laws, OLE special agents and enforcement officers use OLE patrol vessels to board vessels fishing at sea, and conduct additional patrols on land, in the air and at sea in conjunction with other local, state and Federal agencies.

In FY 03, OLE special agents and enforcement officers spent over 2,156 hours conducting surface patrols, another 474 conducting aerial patrols and over 2,000 conducting inspections.

The OLE maintains 19 patrol boats around the country to conduct a variety of patrols including Protected Resources Enforcement Team (PRET) boardings, protection of out National Marine Sanctuaries and various undercover operations.

These patrol vessels range in size from a 17' Zodiac to our largest 39' Chris Craft.

Working with federally-deputized state marine enforcement agents and the U.S. Coast Guard, the OLE is able to garner even more patrol hours.

Although the OLE continues to expand our cooperation with a variety of other agencies, the U.S. Coast Guard remains the OLE's closest ally in the protection of our Federal fisheries.

At sea, on land and airborne patrols conducted with the Coast Guard, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, Civil Air Patrol and our state partners have varying effects protecting our living marine resources and catching offenders, their importance and use in educating the public and documenting fishing violations while at sea are invaluable.

While a vast majority of commercial and recreational fishermen comply with the enacted conservation measures, there are still those fishermen - both domestic and foreign - which attempt to thwart the law and conduct fraudulent business. In recent years, the OLE has stepped up its presence in the international scene as more and more fish are imported and exported into and out of the United States.