Policing Paradise

Palau’s President Tommy E. Remengesau Jr has established his country in the vanguard of global efforts on ocean conservation, in particular with the 2015 designation of much of its territorial waters as a marine reserve and no-take zone. Policing this vast area though remains immensely challenging.

- Christina Hepburn

How do you police the legislation now in place to protect the country’s thousands of miles of surrounding ocean?

Pa l au’s M i n i s t r y of Ju s t ic e a nd M a r i ne Surveillance Bureau has 60 officers but it is still not sufficient. They patrol and protect in excess of 600,000 square kilometres, an area bigger than Spain.

We still definitely need partners ; we cannot handle the enforcement of this massive geographic area of ocean alone. Support has come from Google, offering satellite monitoring that detects ships’ movements, discerning what is considered ‘safe passage’ from another ship that displays fishing activity. National Geographic is helping us with tuna tracking within the protected areas.

Some funding comes from conservation organisations. Japan, through the Nippon Foundation and Sasakawa Peace Foundation, provided ship patrols, including US$17 million in f unding for t ra ining in our faci l it y in Malakal, where we now have some state-of-theart technology available.

Australia also provides us with a patrol ship, looking for IUU – Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated – vessels. We also have Ship Rider partnerships with Australia, Japan and the United States. For example, the US coastguard and naval ships are allowed to come in from time-to-time, Palau’s marine officers get on board and use them as patrol boats. We are also working with the US on more military and coastguard exercises and training.