Maritime Law Enforcement Program

The Maritime Law Enforcement program protects America’s maritime borders from encroachment, defends our Nation’s maritime sovereignty from illicit activity, facilitates legitimate use of the waterways, and suppresses violations of federal law on, under and over the high seas and waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. The Coast Guard is the lead federal maritime law enforcement agency and the only agency with both the authority and capability to enforce national and international law on the high seas, outer continental shelf, and inward from the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to inland waters. Coast Guard responsibilities include detecting and interdicting contraband and illegal drug traffic; at sea enforcement of U.S. immigration laws and policies; enforcing our Nation’s fisheries and marine protected resource laws and regulations; ensuring the integrity of the EEZ, monitoring compliance with international living marine resource regimes and international agreements to which the U.S. is party; and through compliance with international agreements, combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing that negatively impacts maritime and economic security in coastal and regional areas worldwide.