Harvested shark fins and marine pollution among illegal activity detected by Canadian Coast Guard

More than 30 bicycles were loaded onto the Canadian Coast Guard’s Sir Wilfrid Laurier at the Victoria Coast Guard Base on Thursday. June 30, 2016 (CTV Vancouver Island)

The Canadian Coast Guard’s Sir Wilfrid Laurier ship has made its safe return to Victoria, marking the conclusion of a year’s mission uncovering illegal ocean activity.

The high-endurance vessel traversed 20,000 kilometres of the North Pacific Ocean, finding illegally harvested shark fins, unreported catch, evidence of fishing during a closed season and numerous cases of marine pollution, the Canadian Coast Guard said in a statement.

Fishery officers also came across several ships with their monitoring systems switched off, often referred to as “dark vessels,” the coast guard said.

Dubbed Operation North Pacific Guard, the mission is an annual endeavour led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada to detect illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in North Pacific waters.

In place to protect global fish populations, the multinational project enlists the help of officers from the United States Coast Guard and the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The annual mission combines high seas patrols, air surveillance and satellite monitoring.

According to the coast guard, the icebreaker Sir Wilfrid Laurier enabled officers to inspect 15 fishing vessels during its year-long journey. It marked the first time officers were able to enforce new rules on salmon fishing, following a ban that was adopted in July this year on the retaining and possession of Pacific salmon.

“Canada’s ongoing presence in the North Pacific is an example of the multinational cooperation required to monitor and protect fish stocks and marine ecosystems,” said Fisheries and Oceans Minister Diane Lebouthillier in the statement Monday.

“My sincere thanks go out to the expert crew of fishery officers, Canadian Coast Guard personnel and our partners in the United States Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for their efforts in the air and at sea this year under Operation North Pacific Guard.”

Alongside the local project, the Canadian Coast Guard says it has also been conducting daily aerial surveillance in Japan.

A project that took place over the summer in Hokkaido, carried out in collaboration with fishery officers from Japan and South Korea, inspected 407 vessels and found incidents of shark finning, targeted harvesting of dolphins, pollution, and vessel marking violations.