Canadian-led patrol finds alleged shark finning, dolphin harvesting in North Pacific

A Canadian-led patrol of the North Pacific earlier this year uncovered dozens of alleged fisheries violations, including illegal shark finning and killing of dolphins.

Sean Wheeler, international enforcement chief for the Fisheries Department, said the two-month surveillance mission was the first to include crews from other countries, including the United States, Japan and South Korea, on a single vessel.

The Canadian Coast Guard vessel conducted 41 high-seas inspections between May and July, finding 39 potential violations of international fisheries rules, he said.

“We found significant levels of shark finning, as well as targeting of dolphins and other marine mammals, destruction of evidence, misreporting of catch, failure to report bycatch, pollution, and retention of prohibited species,” Wheeler said.

The 39 alleged violations were found on 11 vessels, he told a media briefing on Thursday.

The mission departed from Victoria and headed to Osaka, Japan, before undertaking two 28-day patrols covering nearly 10,000 nautical miles, Wheeler said.

A Fisheries Department surveillance aircraft was also involved in the patrol, deploying to Hokkaido, Japan, to monitor activity in northwest Pacific waters.

Senior compliance officer Patricia DeMille said the aircraft inspected 366 vessels, finding 51 alleged violations related to shark finning, pollution and salmon retention.

“This year’s operation was unique in that it was the first time Canada delivered direct air support to our own inspection vessel,” she said. “This means that our daily air missions provided vessel-sighting information directly to ship-based fishery officers who could then incorporate the aircraft’s findings into their patrol planning.”

The aircraft completed 33 missions, flying a total of 254 patrol hours and covering more than 47,000 nautical miles, DeMille told the briefing.

Wheeler said the air surveillance helped uncover the illegal use of dolphins as bait for sharks, which are often discarded after their fins have been removed.

“This is something we first learned last year,” he said. “So, we have, you know, a compounding problem here.”

Canadian authorities provide evidence of alleged violations to the flag states of the vessels involved for investigation and consideration of sanctions, Wheeler said.

“All of this evidence gets taken up to a significant, court-ready level,” he said.

Wheeler said there has been a reduction in “pirate” vessels, which are not registered to fish in the region, and there are signs the patrols are having an impact.

“We noticed through interviews with captains that they are aware and expecting now a Canadian patrol presence,” he said.

Still, while certain violations have decreased, others remain “persistent,” he said.

“We’ve been out there since the (1990s) but it’s actually in the last few years that the rule book has really changed and a lot of new requirements have come in. Some of these captains are just unaware or choose to ignore (the rules), and that’s where we’re seeing our presence actually starting to influence the behaviour.”

There are more than 1,100 vessels registered to fish in the jurisdiction of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission. All of the vessels inspected as part of this year’s annual patrol were permitted to fish in the region, Wheeler noted.

“What we’re seeing is violations of the requirements that they’re required to comply with,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2025.

Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press