Maritimes Region Announces 2001 Fishery Officer Graduates

Dartmouth N.S. -- Neil A. Bellefontaine, Regional Director-General, Maritimes Region today announced the 2001 graduates of the Fishery Officer Career Progression Program (FOCPP). They are: Catherine Pike, Nicole Sampson, Heather Worden, Dwyane Muise, Craig Smith, James Shute, Allan Dobson, Grant Timmons, Trevor Lushington and Edmund Morris. The new officers have completed six months of training and are now deployed to various offices around the region.

I am pleased to welcome these individuals to our department, said Mr. Bellefontaine. Their work as Fishery Officers will be vital to ensuring that fisheries are managed responsibly and that the resource is sustained for the use of present and future generations.

The new officers join a program with a long and distinguished history. For well over a century, Fishery Officers have enforced fishery legislation and their work in compliance monitoring remains one of the cornerstones of fisheries management. Fishery Officers are considered peace officers and are tasked to enforce the Fisheries Act and the Oceans Act, as well as many other Acts and Regulations relating to Canadian fisheries fresh water and aquatic resources.

Over the next 18 months, the new officers will complete the final part of their training and will be coached under the guidance of senior Fishery Officers in the techniques used to monitor commercial (including domestic and foreign), recreational and aboriginal fisheries to ensure compliance with a conservation based, precautionary approach to fishing.

For information:

Wendy Williams
Communications
(902) 426-6409