Environment DEC
From the July 2005 issue
DEC Establishes Marine Enforcement Unit
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Acting Commissioner Denise M. Sheehan announced the establishment of a DEC Marine Enforcement Unit (MEU). The MEU will be responsible for protecting the state's marine resources by enforcing state and federal laws and regulations concerning habitat preservation and the recreational and commercial harvesting of fish, shellfish, and crustacea.
"Our Marine Enforcement Unit will serve as the agency's eyes and ears on our marine waters," Commissioner Sheehan said. "While our environmental conservation officers in the lower Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island have always provided enforcement of marine resource statutes and continue to do so, the enhanced skills and equipment of the specialized MEU will allow closer monitoring of these resources and their users. Creation of the MEU will enhance DEC's long-standing commitment to protecting our fragile marine environment."
Special Unit - Special Staff
Five ECOs from the 2005 graduating
class of ECOs, Forest Rangers and
Park Police have been assigned
to the new MEU
Recently, 32 new environmental conservation officers (ECO) graduated from the DEC Police Training Academy in Oswego. Five of these graduates are being assigned to the new unit, which will include 10 officers and an investigator. The investigator will assist the unit in conducting long-term and in-depth investigations into large-scale violations of marine resource statutes. In addition, Lieutenant Timothy Huss will be assigned to the unit and will supervise officers in the field.
The MEU will be under the command of Captain Dorothy Thumm, a veteran of nearly 25 years in DEC's Division of Law Enforcement. The MEU will be headquartered with the Marine Resources sub-office in Setauket, Long Island.
Members of the MEU are trained to operate the largest and most sophisticated of DEC's police patrol boats, including a 42-foot craft stationed in eastern Long Island and two 32-foot vessels powered by fuel-efficient and pollution-controlling four-stroke outboard engines. MEU boats are able to patrol under all sea and weather conditions.
The special training and experience of the officers assigned to the MEU make them expert at species identification, methods of taking, and the rules governing seafood harvests, as well as the operation and maintenance of their particular equipment. The unit will work closely with the National Marine Fisheries Service, the United States Coast Guard, and local enforcement agencies.
