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Netting salmon brings $6,000 in fines to Patrick’s Cove man
Placentia… Deon Coffey, of Patrick’s Cove, Placentia Bay, received fines totalling $6,000 in provincial court in Placentia on January 6, 2006.
Mr. Coffey was fined $5,000 for illegally netting salmon in inland waters and $1,000 for obstructing fishery guardians. The obstruction charge resulted from refusing to cooperate with fishery officers and for leaving the scene on an ATV. The judge also placed Mr. Coffey on probation for two years, and prohibited him from angling in inland waters for two years.
On August 3, 2004, Mr. Coffey, along with three other individuals, were apprehended by members of a joint enforcement operation involving DFO fishery officers, fishery guardians, provincial conservation officers and the RCMP. At the time of the arrest, 78 Atlantic salmon and an all-terrain vehicle were seized. The court ordered all items seized be forfeited to the Crown.
Three other individuals involved in the offence were convicted at an earlier date, bringing total fines levied in this case to $18,500.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada would like to remind the public that buying or possessing illegally caught salmon is a crime and punishable in a court of law. We appreciate your support in the conservation of the salmon resource.
Harbour Grace
On January 16, 2006, the Harbour Grace Shrimp Company Limited was convicted in provincial court at Harbour Grace for two breaches of the licence conditions requiring dockside monitoring and fined a total of $2,500.
Also convicted for the same violations on December 22, 2005, was Even Longva, captain of the fishing vessel Hamilton Banker. At the time of the offence on December 16, 2004, the vessel and captain were operating under a licence issued to the Harbour Grace Shrimp Company Limited.
An investigation revealed that a dockside monitoring company was not notified of the Hamilton Banker’s arrival time in port and the vessel’s catch was offloaded without a dockside observer present.
Under the Dockside Monitoring Program, all fishing catches are to be offloaded at designated fish landing stations with the offloading monitored and the catch recorded by a dockside monitoring company observer.
Gander
Daryl Feltham, of Glovertown was fined $1,500 for exceeding his 2002 crab individual quota in provincial court in Gander on January 24, 2006.
An investigation by the Clarenville Detachment of DFO determined that Mr. Feltham exceeded his quota for the mid-shore zone of NAFO Division 3L by 1,151 lbs and the nearshore zone of 3L by 1,815 lbs.
For more information:
Sam Whiffen
Communications Officer
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
(709) 772-7631
Susan Keough
Communications Officer
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
(709) 772-7628
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