Illegal Abalone Activity in Northern B.C.

News Release

NR-PR-06-012e
June 12, 2006

Prince Rupert, B.C. -
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) announced today a total of 68
Northern abalone have been seized as a result of two separate
incidents of illegal abalone harvesting activity in British
Columbia's north coast.

At the end of April 2006, fishery officers received a tip from
Airport Security at the Prince Rupert Airport about a woman who
had boarded a Vancouver-bound flight and allegedly checked in a
cooler suspected to contain abalone. The fishery officers
contacted their counterparts in the Lower Mainland and passed on
the information. At Vancouver International Airport, the woman
was stopped by Steveston-based fishery officers and Vancouver
RCMP as she disembarked the aircraft. An inspection of her
cooler revealed 34 abalone, as well as a substantial amount of
money. The abalone and money were seized; charges are pending.

In another incident, on May 17, 2006, Prince Rupert RCMP
responded to a complaint about a man allegedly selling abalone
in the Rupert Square Shopping Centre. RCMP officers located and
arrested the suspect after finding him in possession of a bag
containing northern abalone. An investigation led the officers
to a local hotel where two additional bags of abalone were
discovered. A total of 34 abalone were seized. A local fishery
officer was then notified about the illegal activity and took
custody of the frozen abalone. The suspect was released on a
promise to appear in Prince Rupert Provincial Court at a later
date.

DFO would like to remind the public that abalone are protected
as a threatened species under the Species at Risk Act (SARA).
The goal of SARA is to prevent endangered and threatened
wildlife from becoming extinct or lost from the wild, and to
help in the recovery of these species. Killing, harming,
harassing, capturing or taking abalone is prohibited under SARA.
Despite a total harvesting ban in 1990, northern abalone
populations show no signs of recovery, with poaching continuing
to be the biggest threat to abalone's survival in the wild. Over
70 per cent of the sites that formerly had an abundance of
abalone now contain no abalone at all. If this trend continues,
abalone will be one step closer to extinction.

The Department is extremely concerned with illegal activity and
asks for assistance from the general public for information on
activities of this nature or any contravention of the Fisheries
Act and Regulations. Anyone with information can call the
toll-free violation reporting line at 1-800-465-4336 or the
local Prince Rupert DFO office at (250) 627-3089.

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For further information:
Michelle Imbeau
Communications Advisor
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Region
(604) 666-2872

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Illegal Abalone Activity in Northern B.C.

News Release

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