December 6, 2007
Port Alberni, B.C. - Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) announced today that
a commercial lingcod harvester has been fined $12,500 after pleading guilty to fishing
for lingcod in a closed area.
On September 18, 2005, fishery officers encountered the commercial fishing vessel
The Office fishing approximately 2.0 nautical miles inside the Swiftsure
closed area on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. This area has been closed since
the early 1990s to both recreational angling and commercial hook and line fishing.
The master of the vessel, Adrian Slavko Kern, had caught 454 lingcod which were
seized by the fishery officers and subsequently sold for a value of $2,788.80.
During the investigation, it was determined the vessel was carrying an Electronic
Monitoring System (EMS) which recorded data and video of the entire fishing trip.
This data showed the vessel had also fished the previous two days inside the closed
area and that all the fish onboard had been caught in the closed area. The Crown
was able to lay additional charges for September 16, and 17, 2005, because of the
EMS data.
Recently, in Port Alberni provincial court, Mr. Kern appeared and pled guilty
to fishing in a closed area for three days. Mr. Kern was fined $2,500 and ordered
to pay an additional $10,000 dollars to lingcod research. He was given one year
to pay the fine and the sanction.
DFO acts to end illegal fishing activity. As part of this work, the Department
is asking 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.
-30-
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Kirsten Ruecker, Communications Advisor
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Region
604-666-2872
