dfo – Fishermens News

British Columbia Commercial Vessel Master Fined for Illegal Fishing

28Feb

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British Columbia Commercial Vessel Master Fined for Illegal Fishing

Sentencing has been handed down to the master of the commercial prawn fishing vessel Darkstar following a long-running court case over illegal fishing in British Columbia’s Strait of Georgia, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans revealed Feb. 23. Judge S.M. Merrick has sentenced the vessel master to pay a fine of $250,000 and forfeit all gear seized (with an approximate value of $80,000) after previously finding him guilty on May 24, 2023 of a total of 13 violations of Canada’s Fisheries Act. On July 2 and July 3, 2020, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Conservation and Protection fishery officers seized the vessel master’s prawn traps, which were illegally set in the Strait of Georgia Glass Sponge Reef Marine Refuges near Sechelt. This area is protected and closed to all ...

Tens of Thousands of Chinook Salmon Discarded as Bycatch in Canadian Trawl Fishery: DFO Report

14Feb

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Tens of Thousands of Chinook Salmon Discarded as Bycatch in Canadian Trawl Fishery: DFO Report

A new report from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) confirms that an estimated 28,117 salmon were caught and discarded as bycatch in the groundfish trawl fishery off the coast of British Columbia in the 2022-2023 fishing season, including some 26,273 Chinook salmon. The DFO report, released Jan. 22, said that over 20,000 Chinook salmon were likely thrown overboard, while 3,700 were landed and subsequently discarded as waste. The discard of the Chinooks, a major food source for a remaining 75 endangered Southern Resident killer whales, comes as the Canadian government is investing millions of dollars into protecting Southern Resident orca whales, plus millions of dollars to support wild salmon. “The is an appalling waste for not just a salmon species that is listed as threatene...

21Dec

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Canadian Government Offering to Buy Back Commercial Fishing Licenses

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has put out notice of $123 million earmarked to buy back Pacific salmon commercial fishing licenses from harvesters who want out of the industry. The effort would also help protect dwindling stocks of the fish. The funds are part of a nearly $650 million Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative announced by the government agency last year. The Canadian Press news agency reported in mid-December that 1,300 licenses would be eligible to participate in a deal that would purchase the licenses at market rate, then remove them from circulation. While there is no way to know how many license owners will participate, the federal agency’s goal is to substantially reduce the size of the fleet. DFO plans multiple rounds of commercial license retirement, with the first round ...

Canada Completes 2022 IUU Enforcement in North Pacific

9Nov

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Canada Completes 2022 IUU Enforcement in North Pacific

Canadian fisheries officials, collaborating with the United States, South Korea and Japan, have completed their 2022 efforts in Operation North Pacific Guard, an international law enforcement operation on the high seas of the North Pacific Ocean. December marks the 30th anniversary of the United Nations ban of high seas driftnets, which are identified by Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Canada as a threat to Canadian migratory fish stocks such as Pacific salmon. and all living marine species. The DFO said in a report issued in early November that Canada flew 29 patrols over 247 hours, covering a total of 44,200 nautical miles as part of Operation North Pacific Guard. They discovered incidents of sharks being caught and kept and garbage pollution, as well as a large number of ships with impro...