Without formal agreement and funding, the Coast Guard makes no scheduled 

 patrols except for those undertaken as a part of their regular patrols. 

 Distances between stations and the large territory to be covered makes 

 these patrols intermittent and infrequent. (Lt. Cdr. Dennis, 1979) The Group 

 Key West Coast Guard ranges along the entire coastline, with the number 

 one enforcement activity, at the present time, being drug interdiction. 



2. National Marine Fisheries Service. Division of Law Enforcement, Office 

 of Fisheries Conservation and Management 



The NOAA/NMFS enforcement function originated in 1958 under the old 

 Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, evolving from loosely coordinated regional 

 programs responsible for enforcing international conventions, agreements. 

 Federal wildlife statutes and regulations pertaining to certain species of 

 fish, whales and fur seals. This function expanded in the late 1960's to 

 meet the growing demand to control increased foreign fishing effort off the 

 U. S. coast, including enforcement of the newly established Contiguous Fishery 

 Zone(Bartlett Act). As more treaties, agreements and laws with substantial 

 national consequences were implemented, the NMFS law enforcement program 

 necessarily became more essential. Enforcement responsibility substantially 

 increased with the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 

 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973. 



The enforcement responsibilities delegated by the Secretary of Commerce 

 to NOAA/NMFS are currently administered and carried out by an Enforcement 

 Division in the Office of Fisheries Management (a staff function) and by 

 five, separate, and independent regional law enforcement organizations 

 (line function) operating under the direction and control of the respective 

 Regional Directors. 



The headquarters enforcement organization in Washington, D.C. is responsible 

 for establishing national enforcement policies and procedures but has no 

 direct control over regional law enforcement organizations. 



The Florida Keys are part of the Eastern Enforcement Area of the NOAA/NMFS 

 Southeast Law Enforcement region, extending from North Carolina to Key West 

 and including Florida Bay. The Eastern Enforcement Area employs a Senior 

 Resident Agent and one Agent on a temporary appointment in Miami. Their 

 responsibilities include the enforcement of the Fisheries Conservation Manage- 

 ment Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and 

 the Lacey and Black Bass Acts, (prohibiting the transport of materials/products 

 of fish and wildlife, illegally obtained under other laws in interstate commerce). 



Their primary mission is to investigate and process civil/criminal vio- 

 lations of the laws mentioned above. The Florida Marine Patrol and the U.S. 

 Coast Guard patrol the waters under Cooperative Agreements entered into by 

 the Regional Director of the NOAA/NMFS Law Enforcement Office in the S.E. 

 region. This alleviates the problem of the lack of ceiling points necessary 

 to hire additional Agents for patrol work. 



There is a Basic Agreement with the State of Florida, in effect since 

 July 1, 1975, signed by the Department of Commerce/NOAA for Law Enforcement 



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