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Comox, B.C. – Somewhere in the vast North Pacific, a rag-tag fleet of fishing boats may have been hoping to quietly fill their nets with millions of illegally caught fish. This may have occurred a number of years ago, but thanks to a partnership between Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Department of National Defence (DND), and the United States’ National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), this kind of illegal activity is being detected, reported and stopped.
"I am pleased to see that our efforts to put an end to illegal fishing are bearing fruit," said the Honourable Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. "This is not something that any one country can fight on its own. By pooling our resources not only do we increase our reach, but we increase the understanding that protecting these resources is a responsibility everyone shares."
Covering more than four million square kilometres in just over 168 flying hours, fishery officers observed a total of 282 vessels, 61 of which were investigated, 27 of which were rigged for high seas driftnet fishing, and 12 vessel had nets actively fishing in the water. These nets varied in length from less than 2 km to 11 km long. The information gathered during Operation Driftnet has already been shared with the relevant parties in the international community for action and will be a topic of discussion at two different conferences later this fall.
After traveling to Alaska earlier this month, DND, DFO fishery officers and their U.S. counterparts in the NMFS carried out a little surprise of their own: a six-day mission called Operation Driftnet designed to help make the North Pacific safe from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. This recent mission was initiated in response to information received from fishermen. It was the first time in a number of years that such an operation has occurred in the fall and it followed a 10-day mission completed earlier this year in June.
Canada has been sending missions like these since before the United Nations banned high seas driftnet fishing, the most devastating form of IUU fishing, in 1992. IUU fishing, so destructive that it threatens entire marine ecosystems in the North Pacific, has earned a coordinated, international response from six countries: Canada, the United States, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and China. International teamwork is credited with achieving a 90 per cent decline in IUU fish harvesting since its peak in 1998. These same countries, except China, are part of the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) which meets annually to discuss issues related to science and enforcement. This year’s NPAFC annual meeting will be held October 23-27, in Vancouver, B.C.
When a suspect vessel is spotted, for example, the U.S. Coast Guard, which may have a cutter and aircraft patrolling in the area, can be called on for support. Or perhaps Russia’s Federal Border Service, Japan’s Maritime Safety Agency or the Fisheries Agency of South Korea. Even China is involved, permitting its enforcement officers to sail aboard U.S. Coast Guard vessels. Canada’s Operation Driftnet plays an important role in the enforcement activities to stop illegal fishing on the high seas.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
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Michelle Imbeau
Communications Advisor
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Region
(604) 666-2872
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Capt. Jeff Manney
1 Canadian Air Division
Public Affairs, Western Region
National Defence
(250) 713-1351 |
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NR-HQ-06-35E |
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