Canada's Bluefin Tuna Fishery: Enforcement Methods

Transcript | Windows Media (14Mb)

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Narrator: Canada is committed to protecting the livelihoods of Canadian fishers and has put in place enforcement activities for fishers of Atlantic bluefin tuna which include dockside, at sea and aerial surveillance.

Allan MacLean,Conservation and Protection Director, Maritimes Region, Fisheries and Oceans Canada: We monitor them at the point when the fisherman makes the decision to go fishing. When the fisherman decides that he is going to go fishing he has to hail out, and he tells us when he is going to go, where he is going to go, how long he is expected to be there and when he comes ashore, he has to hail in, advise us what he has on board, the time that he is going to arrive at port and he could very well be inspected at the wharf by a fishery officer.

When we're conducting our patrols, we're looking for a number of different things. We'll be looking to ensure that the fisherman is licensed - he's authorized to be there; that he's following the conditions that are set out in that license condition. We'll be checking whether or not the fish is of the proper size, that it's tagged, that his logbook is completed as required.

We want to be on the water where the fishery is taking place; we want to be verifying the activity at the time the fish are being caught. So, we take this very seriously: we patrol about 120 days a year in the large pelagics fishery and those are to ensure that the rules are abided by.

Narration:Coordination between at sea surveillance and aerial surveillance contributes to the effectiveness  of Canada's enforcement activities.

Allan MacLean: In this region, we fly about 300 missions a year. We have state-of-the-art equipment.  We can do low-light video photography, regular photography, low-visibility - even if it's foggy. We're able to track through radar the movements of these vessels, so we have a very elaborate aerial surveillance program and I would say one of the top aerial surveillance programs in the world.

Narrator: Canada's bluefin tuna fishery is sustainable because its comprehensive management strategy is closely followed by its fishing industry and strictly enforced by its government.

Allan MacLean: The rules are in place to manage the fishery in a sustainable manner. Having strong penalties ensures that fishermen follow the rules, and if they don't follow the rules that there's a very substantial penalty for doing that.

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Thank you to Canada's bluefin tuna harvesters for playing their role in this sustainable fishery.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2008.