BoatBanter.com - View Single Post

I_am_Tosk

In article ,
says...

On Tue, 1 Mar 2011 07:39:28 -0500, BAR wrote:

In article ,
says...
The problem is the cost and time on station. We need a base within
operating range of the area. A predator costs about $4.5 million and has
a 24 hour fuel load before it becomes an anchor. They have a 2000 mile
radius but that means you have to get it there, do you operating and
then get back to land. And, with a 135 MPH you would need to have
several aloft at a time.

I still say profiling is the answer. You have profilers that know the
fishing grounds and patterns. We can watch a lot of vessels in theater.
When you see "fishing boats" that are not following the profile, or are
suspect based on that profile, you put a couple extra sets of eyes on
them. If they launch out small skiffs or show themselves moving away
from a fishing area toward a ship, or shipping area, you start to move
an asset like predator drone closer and watch them more. If you see that
skiff moving toward another vessel, and then get a SOS from that vessel,
you can pretty much just let that predator vaporize the skiffs before
they get off that first RPG, and then go address the mother ship, and
address I mean vaporize them too...

Any skiff or open boat more than 100 miles from shore will be summarily
sunk.

You could even refine that and say "in the shipping lanes". Let
fishermen have 99.% of the ocean and block off the lanes where the
ships go. That would also make your surveillance requirements less.

We don't seem to have problems declaring "no fly zones" in sovereign
countries, why not declare "merchant ship only" zones. If Wayne wants
to sail there, he files a float plan and he can go. In fact there
would be people watching out for him.

I bet the owner of that super tanker would be very happy to spend the
extra few minutes filing a float plan in exchange for being in
protected waters

And it would be even easier if they profiled too. For instance if you
know where the usual productive fishing areas are, you can assume boats
there are fishing... Don't run the shipping lanes there. Have the ships
moving check in and out as BAR suggested. If you all of a sudden have a
fishing boat, in an area not known for any decent fishing at all, or
moving toward the shipping lanes, check them out a bit.. Maybe keep an
eye on them or let them know you are curious about their activity. This
could be done in several unobtrusive ways I would imagine, in the even
they are serious fishermen looking for new grounds...