September 17, 2010
ANTIGONISH, N.S. – The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), Gulf Region, announced today the latest sentences imposed on fish harvesters for violating snow crab fisheries regulations.
Provincial Court Judge Robert Stroud imposed a fine of $4,500 on Victor Googoo and $3,000 on Shawn Johnson, both of the Paq’tnkek First Nation.
Googoo and Johnson pleaded guilty in Port Hood Provincial Court on July 27, 2010, to failing to comply with a condition of license by setting crab traps in a buffer zone off the western coast of Cape Breton and adjacent to Crab Fishing Area (CFA) 18/19 divisional line in 2009.
Fishery officers from the Cheticamp Detachment laid charges against the fish harvesters under Section 7 of the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licenses Regulations. DFO is committed to the conservation and protection of aquatic resources in all Canadian waters, including the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Persons wishing to report suspicious fishing activities should do so by contacting their nearest DFO office, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, or the Canadian Coast Guard Regional Operations Centre at 1-800-565-1633.
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For more information:
Carole Saucier
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Communications – Gulf Region
Moncton, N.B.
(506) 851-7045
Peter Taylor
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Area Chief, Gulf Nova Scotia
Conservation and Protection
(902) 863-5670 Ext. 2255
NR-G-10-10E
