Philippines and Canada Sign Arrangement on the Dark Vessel Detection System

Philippine Ambassador to Canada Maria Andrelita Austria and Assistant Deputy Minister Adam Burns, Programs Sector, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, signed the Arrangement on the Dark Vessel Detection (DVD) System between NCWC and the DFO of Canada at the sidelines of the 6th Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) in Ottawa, Canada on 12 October 2023.

OTTAWA 16 October 2023 – The Philippines and Canada signed an arrangement that will include the Philippine National Coast Watch Center (NCWC) in Canada’s Dark Vessel Detection System at the sidelines of the 6th Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) in Ottawa, Canada on 12 October 2023.

Philippine Ambassador to Canada Maria Andrelita Austria and Canadian Assistant Deputy Minister Adam Burns of the Programs Sector, Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), signed the Arrangement on the Dark Vessel Detection (DVD) System between NCWC and the DFO of Canada.

The DVD System is a program used to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUUF) by vessels who deliberately turn off their Automatic Identification System (AIS). It utilizes layered multi-sensor satellite data from both commercial and government-owned satellite assets to provide near real-time satellite imagery. It incorporates historical vessel information, environmental data, and analytics to support and facilitate analysis.

The system will be jointly managed by the NCWC and Canada’s DFO and aims to bolster the Philippines’ fight against IUUF and enhance its maritime domain awareness over its territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). END

Philippine Ambassador to Canada Maria Andrelita Austria and Assistant Deputy Minister Adam Burns, Programs Sector, Department of Fisheries and Oceans,(seated) signed the Arrangement on the Dark Vessel Detection (DVD) System between NCWC and the DFO of Canada at the sidelines of the 6th Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) in Ottawa, Canada on 12 October 2023, while officials of the DFA, DFO Canada and GAC Canada look on.

For more information, visit https://www.ottawape.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philembassy.ca, https://www.facebook.com/PHinCanada/ or https://twitter.com/PHinCanada.