NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR- Provincial courts in Newfoundland and Labrador recently convicted and sentenced a number of individuals for violating federal fisheries regulations.
In provincial court at Channel Port aux Basques on November 19, 2008, Pierce Spicer of Harbour Le Cou was fined $2,000 and prohibited from fishing in coastal waters for three years following his conviction for netting Atlantic salmon. In addition, his boat, motor, nets and four Atlantic salmon were forfeited to the Crown. DFO fishery officers based in Port Aux Basques were conducting a patrol of coastal waters along southwestern Newfoundland on June 17, 2008 and discovered two illegal nets. A surveillance of the area observed Mr. Spicer hauling nets and retrieving salmon, and he was apprehended at the community wharf in Harbour Le Cou. Subsequently, the fishery officers returned to the location to remove the illegal nets and freed seven salmon that had become entangled.
Patrick Kerfont and Tobin Barter, both of Mainland on the Port au Port Peninsula, were each fined $2,000 and prohibited from fishing in coastal waters for three years for fishing halibut during a closed time. They appeared in provincial court at Stephenville on October 9, 2008. A 17 foot boat and motor were forfeited.
On November 17, 2008, Boyd Short of Cook’s Harbour received a $200 fine for offloading his cod catch without a dockside monitor present. An investigation by fishery officers from the DFO detachment in St. Anthony with information from dockside monitoring, determined that Mr. Short had offloaded at a private wharf. A condition of his fishing licence required offloading at a dockside monitored port, such as Cook’s Harbour.
Two residents of Blanc Sablon, Quebec were convicted of cod fishing violations in Port au Choix Provincial Court on September 16, 2008. Riley Lavallee was fined $750 for providing a fishing log book containing false information and for fishing cod under a buddy up arrangement without his partner onboard. Victor Letemplier was fined $250 for providing false information in a fishing log book. These charges and convictions resulted from an investigation in October 2007 by fishery officers from the DFO office in Port au Choix.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Sam Whiffen
Communications Officer
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
(709) 772-7631
NR-NL-08-40E
