B.C. court levies $4K fine, year-long ban for illegal fishing

A salmon is placed in a vessel to be lifted by a helicopter and transported up the Fraser River past a massive rock slide near Big Bar, west of Clinton, B.C., on Wednesday July 24, 2019. Helicopter airlifts of migrating salmon have been temporarily halted at a rock slide in British Columbia's Fraser River because officials say large numbers of fish are now getting past the obstruction on their own. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A British Columbia man was handed a $4,000 fine and a one-year fishing ban after he was caught using a gillnet to illegally catch salmon.

Cody Matthew Florence admitted to charges of unlawfully setting fishing gear, fishing without a licence and possessing illegally caught salmon, and was found guilty in a B.C. provincial courtroom last month.

The charges arose after an eyewitness photographed Florence fishing from a boat in the Fraser River near Maple Ridge in August 2022 and reported the incident to authorities at Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Florence's fishing gear and vessel were seized by Fisheries officers pending his hearing.

Prior fishing offences

According to court records, Florence has two prior convictions for breaching the federal Fisheries Act.

The first contravention was in 2005, when Florence was convicted of selling fish caught without a commercial licence, a crime for which he served eight days in jail, followed by a year of probation and a one-year suspension of his fishing licence.

Five years later, Florence was again convicted of illegally catching and possessing fish, as well as operating a vessel without proper safety equipment. Those 2010 charges netted Florence a fine of $1,100, according to the court.

Writing in his decision on Friday, provincial court Judge Wilson Lee says there is no evidence proving how many fish Florence caught illegally in August 2022, but noted that "catching a significant number of fish would be an aggravating factor."

Crown prosecutors asked the judge to order the permanent forfeiture of Florence's vessel and fishing net, and impose a $2,000 fine, plus a three-year fishing prohibition.

"The Crown submits that the boat and gillnet were used to commit the offences and, considering Mr. Florence's record, a suitable sentence requires forfeiture of the vessel and gill net," the judge summarized.

However, Florence offered to pay a larger fine in exchange for keeping his boat, which the judge granted.

"The vessel itself can be used for purposes other than fishing, such as transportation and recreation," Lee reasoned.

"Given the circumstances of this case, including Mr. Florence's dated record and the amount of the fine I am imposing, the added forfeiture of the vessel would be unduly harsh and excessive."

The judge ordered the DFO to return the seized vessel to Florence but keep the gillnet used in the offences.