$287K in penalties imposed due to illegal crab fishing in Boundary Bay

This photo of a crab was provided by Fisheries and Oceans Canada in a news release about illegal fishing issued on Sept. 19, 2023.

A man found illegally fishing for crab in U.S. waters has been penalized with a first-of-its-kind ban by a B.C. court, according to federal officials.

On Monday, Fisheries and Oceans Canada released a summary of penalties imposed on four commercial crabbers found violating federal rules off of Boundary Bay in recent years. In total, the courts ordered $287,000 in fines and forfeitures as punishment.

"Under the Fisheries Act, it is illegal for anyone on a vessel subject to Canadian jurisdiction to fish outside of Canadian fisheries waters," a news release issued by federal officials says.

"Harvesters who choose to ignore the rules give themselves an unfair advantage, undermine the effective management of the fishery, and threaten the sustainability of the resource," the statement continues.

Han Van Lam, who pleaded guilty to illegally fishing in the U.S. in both 2019 and 2020, has been fined $50,000, ordered to forfeit 96 traps and banned from operating his vessel for the first 14 days of the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

"This is the first time that this prohibition has been imposed by the courts," according to the statement from DFO.

In the second case, Michael Hau pleaded guilty to breaching the terms of his fishing licence by failing to scan his traps in 2018, 2019, and 2020. That violation was punished by a $20,000 fine and a forfeiture of the value of his catch, which worked out to just over $19,000.

The largest fine imposed on a single crabber was $160,000, federal officials say. That penalty came after Hoan Trung Do pleaded guilty to setting more traps than he was entitled to and illegally fishing in U.S waters in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Viet Dam, the fourth operator who pleaded guilty to violating the Fisheries Act in 2019 was fined $38,000 and forfeited 83 traps.