The Pacific Islands Division was established in October 2004. It is the main platform from which the OLE provides enforcement services to the main Hawaiian Islands, the Western and Central Pacific and the OLE hub that works directly with the Pacific Islands Region, the National Weather Service, NOAA Corps and National Ocean Service's main National Marine Sanctuary and Monument offices located on the Island of Oahu. The Division encompasses the state of Hawaii, the territories of Guam and American Samoa, and the commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. All partner with OLE through participation in the Cooperative Enforcement Program, thus giving the Division not only four Joint Enforcement Agreements to manage, but also the responsibility to ensure that each JEA acts as a force multiplier for OLE in their respective regions.

The tuna fishing industry and other highly migratory species fisheries is a major concern for the Division in its enforcement of fisheries laws and regulations. The various longline and purse seine vessels within the U.S. permitted fleet operate extensively throughout the established U.S. EEZs in the Pacific and internationally. The ability to effectively monitor these U.S. vessels along with foreign vessels that engage in illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing in these vast waters poses enforcement issues for the Division that are rarely faced in any other part of the world.

The attention to international matters and those within the U.S. Territories are a high priority for the Division. The extensive landing/importation and processing of tuna within Guam and American Samoa presents significant challenges, as only three OLE personnel are stationed within these two territories. The Division works closely with the governments of the foreign nations that make up the region, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Department of State in support/enforcement of a number of treaties and conventions such as the South Pacific Tuna Treaty, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.

The Division addresses a number of protected resources initiatives involving marine mammals and endangered species. The Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, adjacent to the Hawaiian Islands, is a high priority for NOAA OLE, as are the several endangered species of sea turtles and the Hawaiian Monk Seals that populate the area. In addition to the Northwest Hawaiian Islands Monument, the Division is also charged with protecting the three new National Monuments in the Central Pacific that were designated by President George W. Bush prior to his departure from office in 2009. These four monuments pose a somewhat overwhelming, but exciting set of compliance-related challenges for
NOAA OLE because of their distances from each other and populated areas, as well as because of the Division's limited assets.