Subject: CFG
Statement - Canada is a world leader in the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing
OTTAWA, ON, June 5, 2023 /CNW/ - Today we mark the International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing. IUU fishing is a major cause of declining fish stocks and marine ecosystem destruction around the world, threatening the livelihoods of law-abiding fish harvesters, including right here in Canada.
Combatting IUU fishing is a high priority for Canada. That is why the Government of Canada established the Shared Ocean Fund as part of Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy and committed $84.3M over five years. This new funding will support the creation of stronger international rules against IUU fishing and the deployment of Canada's advanced dark vessel detection satellite technology to high-risk areas in the Indo-Pacific region to help detect, track, and intercept illegal harvesters.
As part of Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy, Canadian fishery officers will be deployed to the region to conduct patrols and training in partner states. This builds on the success of Canada's participation in Operation North Pacific Guard, an annual joint enforcement operation with the United States and other partners. Through this operation last year, Canadian fishery officers discovered incidents of shark finning, garbage pollution, and alleged violations of international fishing rules.
Canada also jointly launched the IUU Fishing Action Alliance with the U.S. and the U.K. to build on our ongoing efforts to tackle this activity around the world. Nine countries, plus the European Union, are working together to take action against those who engage in or profit from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, including vessels, companies, and individuals.
We work with these and other nations to strengthen the rules-based international order by advancing stronger measures against IUU fishing. For example, this year, Canada led a proposal to ban shark finning and dumping of plastics from fishing vessels in the North Pacific Ocean, which was adopted by the member countries of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission and will enter into force this summer.
At meetings in Osaka, Japan, this week, Canada will continue to lead efforts to establish a joint international inspection scheme that would provide more effective inspections of vessels that fish for tuna and related species throughout the Atlantic Ocean.
Canada will also host the 7th Global Fisheries Enforcement Training Workshop this summer, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This workshop will bring together over 250 international practitioners in fisheries enforcement from over seventy countries, highlighting Canada's international leadership role in combatting IUU.
I am proud that Canada is considered a leader in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and that we are doing our part to help people around the world to preserve global ocean health and abundance now, and for the future.
The Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
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SOURCE Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Canada
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