Harper Budget Cuts Forced DFO to Cut Canadian NAFO Enforcement in Half, Documents Show
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [CBC] By Rob Antle - June 15, 2016 -
There has been a sharp drop in the number of Canadian ships and inspectors on the water monitoring and policing potential violations by foreign fishing vessels off Newfoundland.
An internal Department of Fisheries and Oceans report, obtained by CBC News through access to information, suggests that Harper-era budget cuts and the aging state of the coast guard fleet are contributing factors to the decline.
"An analysis of program data identified that patrol days and at-sea inspections in the NAFO regulatory area have decreased by 50 percent between 2011 and 2015," an internal DFO report published in March noted.
There are now fewer foreign ships fishing in international waters outside Canada's 200-mile territorial limit, and they are subject to more stringent reporting requirements.
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