By Ian Holmes

Nanaimo man returns from international illegal fishing operation

Feb 19, 2019 | 4:29 PM

NANAIMO — A fisheries enforcement officer originally from Nanaimo dipped his toes into the waters of clamping down on illegal fishing abroad.

Mark Beisel, 32, was among four Department of Fisheries and Oceans officers on a three-week effort in the southern Pacific Ocean in January off Fiji and several other island nations.

Beisel, who’s stationed in Bella Bella, B.C., was aboard a U.S. Coast Guard vessel, while an Aurora aircraft from CFB Comox provided guidance overhead.

“Their job was to look for a lot of the vessels and relay the information to us. We would then make a decision if we were able to meet up with them and conduct an inspection,” Beisel told NanaimoNewsNOW.

The VIU grad said compliance was high, despite the area being known for numerous fishing infractions, including the use of massive nets several kilometres long.

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“It’s nice for us to be out there conducting inspections on vessels that are on top of a lot of our migratory species that come back to British Columbia to spawn.”

The Aurora also patrolled the Phoenix Islands Protected area, a UNESCO world heritage site where fishing is banned and a rare coral ecosystem exists. 

This was Beisel’s second international fisheries enforcement trip abroad following a mission in southeast Asia last August. 

Beisel recommends people who have information on fisheries infractions locally to contact the DFO at 1-800-465-4336.

A DFO news released stated illegal fishing represented 30 per cent of all fishing activity worldwide and is often linked to human trafficking and forced labour.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes