Fishers fined $29K, banned from B.C. fishing lodge for illegal catches

Some of the rockfish catch pictured in a photo that was used as evidence in the trial. (DFO)

Three people, including the operator of a British Columbia fishing lodge, have been fined $29,000 after they were found guilty last month of multiple fishing-related offences.

Provincial court records show Yu Rang Tang, Bai Jia Ye and Sheng Hui Zhao were all convicted on Feb. 8 of possessing more than twice the daily quota of clams, and for possessing a prohibited clam species. Ye was also found guilty of an additional charge of possessing more than twice the daily quota of rockfish.

The charges stem from a Fisheries and Oceans Canada investigation that began in September 2022.

The federal agency says its officers were on patrol in Egmont, B.C., when they saw three people fishing from the dock of a fishing lodge that is also a private home.

During the inspection, the officers found the recreational fishers had together caught 14 rockfish, 969 Manilla clams, one oyster, 83 varnish clams and 12 butter clams, according to a DFO release last week.

The agency says the butter and varnish clams were prohibited from harvest at that time due to potential contamination, while the daily limit of rockfish for a licensed angler is one fish per day and the daily limit for clam fishing is 60 clams per day.

The officers seized all of the fish and shellfish as evidence, according to authorities.

Along with the fines, the three fishers were handed fishing prohibitions and were banned from attending the fishing lodge for periods of one to two years, according to the DFO.

"The significant fines and prohibitions handed down in this case underscore the seriousness of violating fishing rules and regulations under Canada’s Fisheries Act intended to protect and preserve at-risk fish populations," the DFO said in the release.

The agency says excessive harvesting continues to pose a significant risk to the sustainability of Canada's aquatic ecosystems.

Rockfish species are especially susceptible to overfishing, according to the DFO, because they are slow to grow and reproduce, staying close to their home habitats over their lifespans, which average about 75 years.