Operation DRIFTNET

International Operation Name: High Seas Driftnet Patrols

International Operation Dates: 1993/02/16

Mandating Organization: Convention for the Conservation of Anadromous Stocks in the North Pacific Ocean

Region Name: Asia

Location: North Pacific Ocean

Canadian Operation Name: Operation DRIFTNET

Canadian Operation Dates: 1993/05/01 – ongoing

Mission Mandate:

To enforce a United Nations moratorium on the use of high seas driftnet fishing

Mission Notes:

In the 1980s, fishing technologies became more effective with the introduction of driftnets. These were nets hung vertically in the ocean using floats and weights, some of which exceeded 48 kilometres in length. The use of driftnets was a major threat of several levels. The use of them resulted in overfishing in littoral areas, especially off developing nations, thereby depleting fish stocks for nations that most needed them. Driftnets were also indiscriminate in what they caught. Marine mammals, sea birds and non-targeted fish were all caught and would die as unintended casualties of these driftnets, which posed a severe threat to these animals. Over 1,000 fishing vessels were known to use drift nets in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans

In 1989, the United Nations General Assembly took note of the problem of driftnet fishing. In Resolution 44/225 the General Assembly suggested a moratorium on large-scale pelagic driftnet fishing as of 30 June 1992. Other recommendations were made; however, while some progress was made, in its resolution 45/197 of December 1990, the General Assembly noted that some fishing vessels were being reflagged and in one case an effort to expand such fishing. By General Assembly Resolution 46/215 of December 1991, the UN placed a moratorium on driftnet fishing effective 31 December 1992.

Further resolutions in 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 2001 highlighted the fact that large-scale driftnet fishing was still an ongoing problem. It was not just a case for the UN of helping developing nations, but more importantly of resource conservation and management, and protection of endangered species.

On 11 February 1992 the Convention for the Conservation of Anadromous Stocks in the North Pacific Ocean was signed, taking effect on 16 February 1993. Its original members, Canada, Japan, Russia and the United States, agreed to form the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC), which would have its headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Republic of Korea would sign the agreement in May 2003. The NPAFC was created to promote the conservation of salmon and trout stocks, and other related species. Driftnet fishing was an obvious threat to the management of these fish for which the NPAFC Committee on Enforcement coordinates enforcement activities.

Enforcement efforts directed at driftnet fishing began in 1993 with member nations each providing resources to catch vessels fishing illegally. These efforts have led to greater international cooperation between the nations in some realms. In 2001, a United States Coast Guard C-130 staged out of Russia for the first time. In 2006 a joint enforcement plan was created while in 2008, RADARSAT 2 was first employed to monitor fishing activity in the North Pacific. China also has agreed to participate, although it is not a member of the convention.

One of the problems of enforcement has always been catching the illegal fishing vessels. While vessels might be detected, apprehending them has been another matter. Between 1993 and 2014, 47 vessels were detected fishing illegally; however, only 20 were apprehended. Despite these apparently low numbers, driftnet fishing in the North Pacific has been virtually eliminated, in part due to the presence of enforcement aircraft and vessels

In Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is the agency responsible for Canadian participation in the NPAFC, with the Canadian Armed Forces supporting DFO-led enforcement through Operation DRIFTNET. Enforcement has been primarily from 407 Squadron, of 19 Wing in Comox, British Columbia, who have been at time supported by Auroras and personnel from 14 Wing in Greenwood, Nova Scotia.

The first Op DRIFTNET mission was flown in May 1993, with five deployments being conducted that year. Six illegal driftnet vessels were detected. In 1994 there were six deployments between 18 April and 11 September. Four were flown from Shemya Air Force Base (AFB) in the Aleutian Islands and two from Elmendorf AFB in Alaska. Between one and three missions were flown on each deployment, with no suspect vessels detected. The squadron attributed this to increased enforcement efforts and the conversion of driftnet fishing vessels into more conventional types.

In 1995, 407 Squadron operated from Naval Air Station (NAS) Barber’s Point in Hawaii and NAS Adak in Alaska for the first time. They returned in 1996 to these two NAS airfields; however, for the first time in April 1996, Op DRIFTNET was held while the Aurora was enroute to another tasking. In 1997, Midway Island was used for the first time, the three deployments there being complicated by the many albatross chicks that had hatched and were now covering the island. The August deployment was made memorable not only for the birds but also for a driftnet fishing vessel who was eventually arrested at sea.

The minimal number of driftnetters being detected suggested that the numbers had been greatly reduced because of enforcement of the moratorium and the presence of enforcement. The crews who deployed on these operations could take comfort in that; however, there must have been great joy amongst the three crews from 407 Squadron who deployed to Shemya, Alaska in April 1997. Two vessels were caught using drift nets, one on the 13th and the other on the 18th. Russian Border Guard vessels apprehended both based on the information provided by the Canadian Auroras. A third vessel was detected but escaped apprehension. The success was followed up the next year in May when the Aurora crew detected a vessel using a 10 kilometer long driftnet. They were apprehended by the United States Coast Guard.

In 2003 personnel from 14 Wing in Greenwood participated in Op DRIFTNET for the first time as the Auroras deployed to Eareckson Air Station on Shemya in the Aleutians Islands in May. More personnel from 14 Wing, normally from 405 Squadron, followed in April-May 2004 and in subsequent years; however, the only detection they achieved in 2004 was of a beached whale near Shemya which after some considerable effort they managed to get back into the ocean.

By 2004, the normal detachment consisted of two aircraft, three crews and supporting technicians for a total of about 60 personnel. The typical patrol consisted of between 7.5 to 9.5 hours, but could go up to 14 hours. Depending upon the time to get to the patrol area, an Aurora could have 7 or more hours of patrol time; however, weather could affect the search. Fishery officers from DFO and its U.S. counterpart, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), were also onboard to provide expertise in data collection for prosecution. The patrols would be designed to cover a specific area, with the presence of the Aurora being broadcast on VHF radio to the effect that a Canadian aircraft on a UN patrol was searching for driftnet vessels and that anyone having knowledge of such a vessel should contact the aircraft on VHF channel 10.

The 2007 deployment in Shemya detected one vessel, with photos being taken of it and its driftnet. These were passed on to the NPAFC for action; however, it appears that the vessel was not apprehended as the only enforcement vessel in the area was already occupied in boarding a driftnet-operating vessel. The patrol also detected 20 vessels rigged for driftnet fishing. This type of detection was normal in most years.

A big change in technology occurred in 2008 when satellite imagery was used for the first time. Images from the Canadian RADARSAT 2 satellite were used to determine areas where the Auroras should patrol, with the information being passed to the Aurora in “real-time.” With almost 2 million square kilometres of the North Pacific to search, the use of satellite imagery made the patrols more effective.

Another first occurred in autumn 2012 when Op DRIFTNET operated from Japan for the first time. Flying from Hakodate Municipal Airport on the island of Hokkaido, over 310 vessels were investigated; however, no illegal activities were observed. 407 Squadron returned there again in 2013 with no illegal activities noted but the May 2014 deployment at Hakodate was more successful. A Chinese vessel was observed using a drift net. It was subsequently boarded by the US Coast Guard cutter Morgenthau with members of China’s Fisheries Law Enforcement Command onboard and found to have over 400 kilograms of salmon onboard, a fish that it was not allowed to catch in the area in which the vessel was operating.

While it has been 407 Squadron that has been most active in Op DRIFTNET patrols, with 405 Squadron providing aircraft and personnel in support later years, the RCAF has also provided other resources. With two aircraft and up to 60 people deployed for up to three weeks at a time, the volume of equipment and supplies required to sustain the patrols has been more than a CP-140 could carry. The RCAF has thus used both the CC-130 Hercules and the CC-177 Globemaster III in support of these operations, flying the required equipment and supplies to the operating base and back to Canada. Some of these missions on the part of 426 Squadron have been conducted in conjunction with planned training flights, thereby gaining efficiencies.

Operation DRIFTNET has been a successful anti-driftnet fishing operation. While the number of illegal fishing vessels apprehended has never been high, the Auroras have contributed to the apprehension of many. The continued need for such patrols can be seen in the detection and apprehension of such vessels, even in 2016, after more than 20 years of driftnet fishing patrols. Immeasurable is the number of fishing vessels who have converted to other means of fishing because of the possibility of being caught, a possibility in which Canada’s Aurora aircraft, and now the RADARSAT 2 satellite, have played a major role.

The content of this webpage was prepared by the Operational Records section within the Directorate of History and Heritage (DHH).

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