Fishy activity reported along Russian boundary

The U.S. Coast Guard included the following in its enforcement report to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which is meeting this week in Sitka.

U.S./Russian Maritime Boundary Line (MBL) Enforcement

Foreign F/V activity along the MBL increased dramatically in May. In April, there was less than one vessel per day along the MBL, increasing to an average of 15 vessels per day at the end of May. There have been numerous detections of Russian longline fishing vessels briefly crossing into the U.S. EEZ, but no clear evidence that they were fishing in U.S. waters. There is strong evidence that one Russian trawl vessel repeatedly entered the U.S. EEZ. As a result, the Coast Guard increased surface and air presence along the MBL to deter future incursions. Additionally, the Coast Guard communicated these incursions to the Russian Border Guard for further action.