Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) officers from British Columbia will be departing for their first mission in the Indo-Pacific region to challenge illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing.
Canada pledged to protect the region as part of its Indo-Pacific Strategy. “Officers will conduct patrols, including high-seas boardings and inspection operations, to ensure compliance with regulations and to detect illegal and unreported catch,” DFO said.
Officers will also collect scientific data to inform an understanding of the high seas environment, including the migration range of species of interest, like Pacific salmon.
Patrols are conducted under international law to enforce the United Nations Ban on High Seas Driftnets.
According to DFO, there are more than 1,200 vessels registered to fish in the high seas (beyond 200 nautical miles jurisdiction) of the North Pacific under the North Pacific Fisheries Commission—which is the region covering the west coast of Canada to the east coast of Japan.
Canada is authorized by a number of international agreements under Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) to conduct patrols and inspections to uphold these international accords. The area covers approximately 28 million square kilometres, said the DFO.
According to Fisheries and Oceans, IUU fishing presents a significant risk to salmon populations in the North Pacific region and may be contributing to declines in salmon populations.
The Canadian government is contracting a vessel from Atlantic Towing for this mission, which will begin in the fall. The Canadians will be part of a multinational effort—Operation North Pacific Guard—involving officers from DFO’s Conservation and Protection program, along with officers from the Canadian and U.S. Coast Guards.
The Canadian Coast Guard is contributing experts in navigation and small craft operations with advanced levels of emergency medical training.
The U.S. Coast Guard is providing experienced boarding officers to participate in these Canadian-led boardings and will work alongside Canadian fishery officers, indicated the DFO.
Salmon at Risk
Canadian fisheries officers have taken part in an annual law enforcement operation on the North Pacific high seas since 2019.Some of the funding for the operation is provided by the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI), which is intended to enhance conservation, protection, and enforcement efforts in high-risk areas for Canada’s Pacific salmon stock.
As part of the initiative, the DFO has budgeted more than $46 million in the next five years to undermine IUU fishing in the North Pacific, which includes the fall deployment of the Canadian high-seas patrol vessel.
“Pacific salmon is vital to the food security, cultures, and economies of numerous First Nations, as well as the livelihoods of thousands of workers in rural and coastal communities in British Columbia and Yukon. As fish are not bound by borders, we must take decisive action to safeguard these species. This high seas enforcement operation will assist in the rebuilding efforts we are undertaking domestically,” said Joyce Murray, minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada said the program provides “state-of-the-art satellite data and analysis to small island nations and coastal states around the world where IUU fishing has a major impact on local economies, food security, and the health of fish stocks.”
The department said the Canadian government remains concerned about the “impact IUU fishing has on food security, where fish resources of vulnerable coastal communities are threatened by the illegal fishing, affecting millions of people.”
