Fisheries and aquatic ecosystem resources have ecological, social, economic, and cultural value, and they provide a multitude of ecosystem service benefits for people. Thus, ensuring the sustainability of these resources is important. Ecological (e.g., erosion) and anthropogenic (e.g. climate change, human population growth) issues threaten the resilience of these resources, especially in times of great, often damaging and destructive, changes. In addition to good governance and holistic management of fisheries and aquatic ecosystem resources, effective regulation of fishing behavior and related activities is critical in ensuring these resources remain available, and plentiful, for society's future use and enjoyment. However, the role of regulatory entities, and effectiveness of their approaches, in detecting fish crime, obtaining voluntary compliance with laws that serve to protect, enhance, and conserve fish and fish habitat, and deterring unlawful fishing behavior is poorly understood, overlooked, and undervalued. Using the Laurentian Great Lakes as a case study, the primary objectives of this dissertation were to:2022 Review the roles of various fisheries law enforcement entities and officers involved in the regulation of Great Lakes fisheries;2022 Investigate the key environmental and anthropogenic issues posing threats to, and opportunities for, fisheries law enforcement officers;2022 Survey members of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission's Law Enforcement Committee to examine the effectiveness of a joint or multi-agency approach to fisheries law enforcement; and;2022 Survey fisheries law enforcement officers representing multiple jurisdictions (federal, non-federal, and binational) in the Great Lakes Basin to document perceptions of their roles and effectiveness in carrying out their duties and activities.Uncertainty surrounding the impacts of looming threats on fish and fish habitat will continue to influence fisheries law enforcement entities in strategizing improved, more proactive ways to detect and deter fish crime in the Great Lakes Basin. Given the high number and diversity of regulatory entities throughout the area, Committee members confirmed a joint approach is most effective in addressing cross-border fisheries crime. Surveying fisheries law enforcement officers also showed that these individuals-across multiple jurisdictions-value their role and proudly fulfill their duties with the mutually-shared goals of enforcing fish laws, protecting and enhancing fisheries and aquatic ecosystem resources, and educating the general public. While the majority of those officers surveyed shared their satisfaction with their entities', and their own, effectiveness, they also helped identify ways in which to improve, or at least measure improvements in, both organizational and individual effectiveness.
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