ECO Pansini of the New York City Marine Enforcement Unit, along with ECOs Ableson and Milliron, conducted regulatory inspections of lobster gear in the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. To prevent whales and other marine mammals from becoming entangled in lines, federal regulations require lobster traps joined to marking buoys to have specially designed breakaway segments that separate rather than entrap an animal. ECOs routinely work alongside federal agents with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to patrol and enforce federal law in federally regulated waters outside the statutory border of New York State.
