Saunders points in particular to the participation of the National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in the Hudson Canyon law enforcement operations, though this initiative is hardly unique in this regard.

NOAA and District 5 also cooperate in Operation Right Speed, an educational and enforcement activity that protects the fragile North Atlantic right whale population. Only 300 to 400 North Atlantic right whales are estimated to remain, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and collisions with ships pose a threat to this critically endangered species.

Right whales winter and give birth in the coastal waters of Georgia and Florida, and then transit through the district’s area of responsibility to their summer feeding and nursery grounds off New England. To prevent ship strikes as the whales migrate northward, the NMFS enacted a mandatory speed restriction zone in certain sections of mid-Atlantic coastal waters from November to April. Ships greater than 65 feet in length must travel less than 10 nautical miles per hour in these designated areas.

In part, the aptly named Operation Right Speed is an educational effort, said Saunders, of the 2-year-old initiative, which he added is the first of its kind to reduce ship strikes. Press releases and notice to mariner broadcasts over VHF-FM radio when North Atlantic right whales are sighted nearby are usually enough to make captains aware of their responsibility under the law. However, if mariners do not slow down, Coast Guard assets can be utilized to ensure compliance.

“Smallboats, cutters, aircraft, and even command centers can observe violations, without having to do boardings,” said Saunders. “We typically hail the vessel and give them an opportunity to slow down. If they don’t do it, we record their information and pass it to NOAA for investigation and to issue citations.

“Aircraft again prove to be very effective assets in untraditional ways because of how some of the Coast Guard’s missions overlap,” he continued. “The aircrews fly over North Atlantic right whale Special Management Areas [SMAs] as part of their maritime domain awareness mission, and they support Operation Right Speed’s law enforcement and living marine resource missions by spotting and calling in sightings of right whales or violators.”

The 5th District’s “partner assist” role, as Saunders calls it, in Operation Right Speed has had tangible results in safeguarding the right whales’ recovery. More than 490 vessels have been educated on the North Atlantic right whale SMAs. The district’s diligent law enforcement efforts associated with Operation Right Speed are also responsible for 83 percent of the violations issued in these SMAs.

District 5 is also involved in another cooperative law enforcement and environmental protection mission, which will preserve a different maritime resource: American history.

Saunders’s office is also responsible for a new initiative designed to preserve the integrity of the sites of the many shipwrecks off North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Known as “the Graveyard of the Atlantic” for its treacherous shoals, this part of the North Carolina coast was also the site of German submarine warfare during World War II. Sunken military ships rest on the ocean floor, where they attract fish and recreational divers.

Most divers respect these sites, many of which are protected under the Sunken Military Craft Act, and they leave them untouched, said Saunders. However, some divers pry off pieces of the wrecks for souvenirs, which quickly dissolve out of water if not properly preserved.

“These ships are historical jewels, and parts of them are deteriorating in people’s garages rather than being left in the water or properly cared for and exhibited in museums,” mourned Saunders. “We’re not saying that people shouldn’t dive on these wrecks, but that they shouldn’t pull material off of them, especially since many are also gravesites.”

The 5th District’s assets have always patrolled the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary in order to prevent that historical ironclad from being pilfered, but this new endeavor extends this security to other nearby sites. Again, part of this mission is educational: Saunders and his district colleagues do outreach with local dive operators, reminding them of the law and the ethical considerations involving these sites. But the Coast Guard also has the authority to board dive boats to search for historical artifacts suspected of being taken from these protected shipwrecks.

This is an “out of the box” mission, conceded Saunders, one that’s a bit atypical of the enforcement and resource protection activities for which the Coast Guard is customarily responsible. But along with the aforementioned fisheries law enforcement assignments, this initiative capitalizes upon the mission history of the service in general and upon the variety of resources within the district’s area of responsibility. A culmination of more than a century’s experience with marine resources protection, these 5th District operations are also indicative of the service’s ability to adapt to new threats using new technology.

“These missions demonstrate the inventive ways we’re conducting law enforcement to protect our environment,” observed Coast Guard Rear Adm. William Lee, 5th District commander. “Going forward, we’ll continue working closely with other governmental partners, and we can and will continue to employ new technology and creative strategies. We have not only a tradition of stewardship to uphold, but also an ethical responsibility to conserve the nation’s maritime environment and marine resources for future generations.”

This article first appeared in the Coast Guard Outlook 2012 Edition.