Government of Canada Extends MDA Space Contract
Assures Continuous Space-Based Maritime Awareness and Security
Fisheries and Oceans Canada ("DFO") has extended its contract with MDA Space to provide critical and continuous maritime satellite surveillance data and analytics services for dark vessel detection. This amended contract, which extends the original agreement announced in 2023, aligns with commitments outlined in the recent G7 Foreign Ministers' Declaration on Maritime Security and Prosperity, reinforcing Canada's leadership in promoting safe, secure and sustainable maritime operations.
"MDA Space enables Canada and our partner nations to see, track and intercept illegal activities across vast ocean spaces," The Honorable Joanne Thompson, Canada's Minister of Fisheries
MDA Space utilizes Maritime Insights, a satellite information service that enables nations to monitor the activity in and around their maritime economic zones, to deliver maritime services to DFO's Dark Vessel Detection program. Using multiple space-based sensors and leveraging AI-based intelligence for vessel detection, statistical voyage prediction, and analysis of fishing behaviors, Maritime Insights fuses synthetic aperture radar from MDA RADARSAT-2 with data from optical, radio frequency (RF), automatic identification systems (AIS) and vessel monitoring systems (VMS) to counter the sophisticated and deceptive techniques employed by actors conducting illegal operations on the ocean surface.
As part of the contract renewal announced today, DFO has also amended its contract with MDA Space to enable future utilization of data and services from MDA CHORUS, the company's next generation Earth observation constellation scheduled to come online in mid-2026.
"Canada is a leader in international efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. MDA Space enables Canada and our partner nations to see, track and intercept illegal activities across vast ocean spaces," said the Honorable Joanne Thompson, Canada's Minister of Fisheries. "MDA's CHORUS will further strengthen Canada's robust Dark Vessel Detection platform, which delivers near real-time satellite monitoring from the Philippines to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador and is a key component of Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy."
"As a trusted mission partner, MDA Space is committed to working with the Government of Canada to provide actionable insight and intelligence that helps safeguard ocean ecosystems and promote maritime security globally," said Mike Greenley, CEO of MDA Space. "With the growing sophistication of illegal maritime activities, next-generation space-based technology like MDA CHORUS will be essential to ensuring continuity of this capability in priority coverage areas of high interest."