Essential to homeland security is the mission to enhance maritime border security while maximizing the flow of legitimate trade and travel on the sea, ocean, and other navigable waterways. Navigable waterways include the Great Lakes and all inland waterways subject to federal jurisdiction, such as the Mississippi River, the Intra-coastal Waterway, and other inter-state lakes and rivers.
To fulfill this mission, the U.S. Coast Guard:
- Monitors U.S. flag vessels, including commercial boats and foreign vessels operating in U.S. waters;
- Responds to and investigates maritime incidents, search and rescue, casualties, and boating accidents; and
- Addresses issues like boating safety, fishing regulation, oil spills, migrant interdiction, drug smuggling, and pollution.
The U.S. Coast Guard reports on:
- Fishing regulation compliance rates;
- Migrant interdiction effectiveness;
- Removal rate of cocaine from non-commercial vessels in the maritime transit zone;
- Number of serious marine incidents;
- Average number of oil spills; and
- Average number of deaths at sea.
