Question Period Note: CBC News Article on the National Fisheries Intelligence Service

• NFIS’s mandate is to support enforcement operations through the provision of unbiased perspectives on criminality in the fisheries, and to identify and rank the most significant threats to Canada’s fisheries and marine habitat.
• To deliver on its mandate, NFIS uses a recognized methodology called the Strategic Threats and Risks Assessment (STRA) to minimize any bias in its analysis.
• The source “documents” referenced in the article were unsanctioned products, unilaterally created without guidance from the organization.

• Chris Arsenault, a reporter from CBC News, published an article entitled “In fight against illegal fishing, Canada's sea spies struggle with sloppy intel, bias: Internal files” on 12 March 2021 on the National Fisheries Intelligence Service (NFIS). The report mentions documents painting a negative picture of poor intelligence gathering despite NFIS winning global awards for its intelligence work.
• NFIS uses a recognized and award wining methodology called the Strategic Threats and Risks Assessment (STRA) to minimize any bias in its analysis. The STRA methodology is an adaptation of the RCMP’s Sleipnir technique. The STRA uses a standardized methodological process that assists in identifying, assessing and prioritizing the most significant threats, and is the basis for evidence-based decision-making to formulate an appropriate compliance response.
• NFIS reports to Conservation and Protection (C&P). C&P is the enforcement arm of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and supports more than 600 fishery officers who work to ensure compliance with the Fisheries Act and related regulation and legislation.
• In 2004, C&P launched an internal review to find new ways to combat major fraud and collusion in fisheries, work better with other law enforcement partners in Canada and abroad, and implement a risk-based approach to compliance monitoring and enforcement. As a result, a departmental decision was then made to move towards an intelligence-led model, and create a dedicated intelligence program. This led to the creation of the NFIS in 2012. NFIS became fully operational in 2016.
• NFIS provides intelligence to support Fisheries and Oceans Canada, including its frontline fishery officers, in enforcing the Fisheries Act and associated Acts and Regulations, and contributing to the conservation and protection of Canadian fish stocks and healthy aquatic ecosystems. It is made up of approximately 80 employees across Canada, including 28 intelligence officers and 20 intelligence analysts.
• NFIS carries out its mandate in numerous ways, such as:
o Tracking, monitoring and identifying entities involved in criminality against Canada’s fisheries and marine habitat through open and covert activities.
o Collecting, analyzing, transmitting and sharing information to support compliance operations, as well as identifying security threats through its presence in Canada’s Marine Security Operation Centers in Victoria and Halifax.
o Providing intelligence to and gathering intelligence from a large number of federal, provincial and international government departments and agencies to support operations.
o Conducting compliance assurance audits of individuals and companies designated as observers under the Fisheries Act, and of exports certificates issued under DFO’s Catch Certification Program.
• NFIS collects information from all data sources, and works closely with other enforcement and partner agencies to produces intelligence reports to facilitate knowledgeable and informed decision-making. In 2018, NFIS received an award from the International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts recognizing its leadership in intelligence analysis.

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