Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has launched its third annual high-seas patrol in the North Pacific to tackle illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The DFO said its latest campaign will deter IUU fishing near the Aleutian Island chain, with a focus on migratory routes for species like Pacific salmon. The campaign, called Operation North Pacific Guard, is being led by DFO fishery officers and is being supported by the Canadian Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
“It is critical that Canada does its part to promote the rule of law on the high seas. By doing our part to support international laws, we uphold our country’s significant investments and leadership in securing marine species and ecosystems at home and abroad,” DFO Minister of Fisheries Joanne Thompson said in a release.
Canada launched a similar mission in October 2024 that ended up finding a number of “dark vessels” and uncovered illegally harvested shark fins and fishermen fishing out of season. Canada first led the annual mission in the North Pacific in 2023, but the country has participated in Operation North Pacific Guard in the past alongside law enforcement officials from the U.S., South Korea, and Japan.
The latest mission will take place on the Sir Wilfrid Laurier, a Canadian Coast Guard multipurpose vessel that also serves as a light icebreaker. The ship will participate in light boarding of vessels at sea and will patrol over 15,000 kilometers of ocean while making port visits in Osaka, Japan.
The DFO said it will also conduct daily aerial surveillance over the summer out of Hokkaido, Japan, to monitor fishing vessels.
“Canada’s air surveillance program has previously identified significant conservation concerns related to shark finning and illegal marine mammal harvest, including the harpooning of dolphins and pollution events that threaten the marine environment,” the DFO said. “Continued monitoring for these activities will allow Canada to hold non-compliant vessels accountable.”
A total of more than 20 DFO fishery officers will take part in the operation, and the mission will also collect environmental data for scientific research.
