Reassessing the Value of U.S. Coast Guard At-Sea Fishery Enforcement

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is responsible for enforcing federal fisheries laws at sea. The USCG routinely reports high compliance rates and uses them as evidence that its program is successful at deterring fisheries violations. Research presented in this article indicates that high USCG-reported compliance rates vastly overestimate the actual rates and enforcement success because USCG at-sea inspections fail to detect many actual violations. Using high USCG-observed compliance rates as an indicator of successful enforcement is misleading, adversely influencing voluntary compliance with fishing regulations, and prevents fishery managers from recognizing illegal fishing as a significant problem and creating strategies for addressing it.