The coast guard of Germany (German: Koordinierungsverbund Küstenwache) is an association of a number of federal agencies. It is not a single entity, like the coast guards of other countries, for instance the United States Coast Guard. Its prime tasks are border protection, maritime environmental protection, shipping safety, fishery protection and customs enforcement.The agencies that comprise the Küstenwache have a common plan of action and direct their operations from two Coast Guard Centers (German: Küstenwachzentren), Neustadt (Holstein) for the Baltic Sea and Cuxhaven for the North Sea.