Multi-agency Offshore Force Trains in Tampa Bay Area

Story by JoAnne Adams, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Photos by PA3 Sondra-Kay Kneen, PADET St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- For the first time ever in Florida, state and federal crews stationed aboard offshore patrol vessels and aircraft trained together in the Tampa Bay.  The four-day comprehensive training exercise, which began Aug. 24, was a joint venture with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the United States Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Law Enforcement.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - AMT2 Mark Cownie waits in an HH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter as Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) vessels meet the helicopter in the arranged training area to run a practice drill of a search and rescue case. Coast Guard photograph by PA3 Sondra-Kay Kneen, PADET St. Petersburg.

Their mission: develop seamless, integrated patrols that better protect the public from terrorist activities, enhance safety of life at sea and conserve Florida's bountiful marine resources.

"The impetus for this exercise was an outgrowth of FWC's increased offshore presence in marine fisheries enforcement," said Capt. Brad Williams, FWC event coordinator.  "Since the Coast Guard and the FWC are both involved in homeland security, search-and-rescue operations and other similar offshore missions there's an obvious need to coordinate and strengthen ties between our agencies."

In recent years the FWC acquired a fleet of six offshore patrol vessels of various sizes and capabilities as a result of cooperative agreements with NOAA. Some of the newer vessels are high-speed, state-of-the-art designs, capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots under rough sea conditions. These unique designs are also equipped with infrared television monitors and other space-age technologies.

Training afloat involved search-and-rescue operations, vessel boardings under hostile situations, and zero-visibility navigation. Classroom topics included fish identification, joint air operations and a demonstration of NOAA's new Vessel Monitoring System, used to track fishing vessel movements in the Gulf of Mexico.

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