More than $100K in fines issued for illegal fishing along B.C. coast, DFO says
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is publicizing three recent court decisions resulting in more than $100,000 in fines for three people convicted of violations of the Fisheries Act.
The first of the three fines was issued on Oct. 31, but the DFO shared details of the case in a news release on Tuesday.
The federal agency said commercial fisherman Adrian Slavko Kern was fined a total of $49,704.68 after pleading guilty to Fisheries Act violations in Prince Rupert provincial court.
Kern's fine included $25,000 for illegally setting fishing gear, plus $24,704.68 for the illegal sale of fish, the DFO said.
"The court judgment also prohibited Mr. Kern from applying for a new commercial fishing licence and from fishing under any commercial licence for a period of eight months," the agency said in its release.
The DFO added that Kern's illegal fishing happened from Sept. 13 to 19, 2018, when he was fishing commercially for halibut and sablefish in the Chatham Sound area near Prince Rupert, which was closed for harvest.
In determining the penalty Kern would face, the judge considered his three previous convictions under the Fisheries Act, which occurred in 2003, 2005 and 2020, according to the DFO.
On Thursday, the federal department announced two other recent Fisheries Act convictions, including another one related to illegal fishing in Chatham Sound.
Commercial crab harvester Truc Hoang Le was fined a total of $20,000 in a January Prince Rupert provincial court decision after being found guilty of "numerous violations" of the act, according to the DFO.
The agency said Le "failed to follow the regulations by ensuring that the electronic monitoring system was accurately monitoring the vessel 24 hours per day, seven days per week, while engaged in fishing" between April 15 and May 4, 2018.
Most of his fine – $18,000 – was for failing to comply with the conditions of his commercial crab licence, while the remaining $2,000 was for other Fisheries Act violations, the DFO said.
A third fisherman was fined a total of $44,000 for violations that occurred in Rivers Inlet, B.C. from March 27 to April 15, 2019.
The DFO said commercial crab harvester Sou Tac Ma was found guilty in Port Hardy provincial court on Dec. 21. He was fined $21,500 for fishing commercial for crab during a closed time, and $22,500 for fishing without a valid commercial harvest licence.
Across the three unrelated cases, the three men were fined a total of $113,704.68.
"The Government of Canada is committed to protecting Canada’s wildlife and biodiversity," the DFO said in its release.
"This includes safeguarding the long-term health and productivity of Canada’s fisheries resources, and the habitat that supports them, for generations to come."
The agency asks anyone with information on illegal fishing activities to call Crime Stoppers or the DFO Pacific region's reporting line: 1-800-465-4336. Information can also be emailed to DFO.ORR-ONS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.