OTTAWA, ON, June 5, 2021 /CNW/ – June 5th is the International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing.
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing poses a serious risk to our global oceans and economy. It threatens the livelihoods of law-abiding fish harvesters and it damages our marine ecosystems, and the countless lifeforms they sustain.
The scale of its threat cannot be ignored. IUU fishing accounts for about 30 per cent of all fishing activity worldwide, removing up to 26 million tonnes of fish from our oceans annually. It can generate up to $23 billion a year in illegal profits.
The Government of Canada has taken strong, consistent action to stop IUU fishing around the world. Some valuable Canadian fish stocks—such as tuna and salmon—also share ecosystems or migrate into areas where an increased threat of IUU fishing exists. With 75,000 Canadians employed in the fishing and aquaculture sector, the government will continue working hard to protect these livelihoods and the valuable resources they depend on.
To combat IUU fishing, the Government of Canada launched the new Dark Vessel Detection program. This program is providing state-of-the-art satellite data and analysis to small island nations and coastal states—like Ecuador—where IUU fishing
