National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement
often abbreviated NOAA OLE
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement (NOAA OLE) is a federal police part of the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland. The leadership consists of Director James Binniker , and Deputy Director Manny Antonaras
It was established in 1930 as the Division of Law Enforcement, U.S. Fish Commission and Bureau. It is responsible for the ecosystem protection and conservation of most of national marine life. It is the only federal agency for such purposes. As of 2011, it has more than 200 employees. NOAA OLE is divided into five divisional offices (Northeast, Southeast, Alaska, West Coast, and Pacific Islands), led by an Assistant Director, and 52 field offices, e.g., Pago Pago, American Samoa; Ellsworth, Maine; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In March 2025, the leases for several field offices were terminated.
State partners
OLE maintains working relationships with state agencies under Cooperative Enforcement Agreements (CEAs). Partners include:
Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, California, the Commonwealth of Northern Marianas, Delaware, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
Laws and statutes enforced
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA) (16 U.S.C. 1801)
Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996
High Seas Driftnet Act of 1992 (16 U.S.C. 18269)
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) (16 U.S.C. 1531)
The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA) (16 U.S.C. 1361)
The Lacey Act Amendments of 1983 (Lacey) (16 U.S.C. 3371)
The Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) (16 U.S.C. 1431)
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act
American Fisheries Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-277)
Certificate of Legal Origin for Anadromous Fish Products (16 U.S.C. 1822 note, Section 801 (f)
Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2401-2413)
Antarctic Marine Living Resources Convention Act of 1984 (16 U.S.C. 2431-2444)
Antarctic Protection Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 2465[a])
Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act (16 U.S.C. 5103[b])
Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971-971k)
Atlantic Salmon Convention Act of 1982 (16 U.S.C. 3601-3608)
Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act of 1984 (16 U.S.C. 1851 note)
Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1401 et seq)
Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act (16 U.S.C. 1385 et seq)
Driftnet Impact Monitoring, Assessment and Control Act (16 U.S.C. 1822 note section 4006)
Eastern Pacific Tuna Licensing Agreement Act of 1984 (16 U.S.C. 972-972h)
Fish and Seafood Promotion Act (16 U.S.C. 4001-4017)
Fisherman's Protective Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1980[g])
Fur Seal Act Amendments of 1983 (16 U.S.C. 1151-1175)
High Seas Fishing Compliance Act (16 U.S.C. 5506[a])
Land Remote-Sensing Policy Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 5601 et seq)
Northern Pacific Anadromous Stocks Convention Act of 1992 (16 U.S.C. 5001-5012)
Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (16 U.S.C. 773-773k)
Ocean Thermal Energy Conservation Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9101 et seq)
Pacific Salmon Treaty Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C 3631-3644)
Shark Finning Prohibition Act (16 U.S.C. 1822).
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement” as often abbreviated NOAA OLE. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6974617. VIAF identifies the subject as 135285056. The Library of Congress control number is no2010122950. 1 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1930, 2011, 2025 and 1801.
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This entry incorporates text from “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.