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OTTAWA – The Honourable Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans expressed his pleasure today with the outcomes of the North Atlantic Fisheries Ministers’ Conference held last week in Narsaq, Greenland. At this annual meeting, the ministers announced major success in the fight to eliminate illegal, unrecorded and unregulated (IUU) fishing vessels this year by using their collective port state controls.
"When our new government was elected, we made the global fight against illegal fishing a priority," said Minister Hearn. "Working together with like-minded countries, using our legislative powers as port states, as well as IUU lists, we have made it virtually impossible for illegal fishing boats to find a place to refuel and land their illegal catches."
Minister Hearn was represented at the meeting by his Parliamentary Secretary, Randy Kamp, and Canada’s Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation, Loyola Sullivan. Other participating Ministers and officials included those from Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, the European Union, and the Russian Federation.
Among the outcomes of this year’s meeting, ministers agreed to continue working together to stay one step ahead of IUU fishers. Ministers will undertake a study of IUU enterprises to find out where the money is coming from to keep illegal fishing boats afloat. Secondly, ministers will continue to leverage market controls to stop illegally caught fish from entering legal markets, including looking for opportunities to trace illegal catches from sea to market.
"Profit is what drives illegal fishing, and we’re making it harder and harder for illegal fishing enterprises to make money," said the Minister. "That’s good news for the fish stocks, for legitimate fishers, and the health of our oceans."
For more information, visit www.overfishing.gc.ca.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
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Phil Jenkins
Manager, Media Relations
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Ottawa
613-993-5413 |
Steve Outhouse
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Ottawa
613-992-3474 |
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NR-HQ-07-29E |
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