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Grand Bank – Two Burin men have been fined a total of $14,900 for violations in the sea scallop fishery.
Harold Martin, owner of the vessel, was convicted under Section 65(1) of the Fishery (General)
Regulations in Grand Bank Provincial Court on September 18, 2006 of two counts
of unlawfully fishing in French waters, and was fined $1,000 on each count. Mr.
Martin did not obtain a license from Canadian authorities to enter and/or to
fish in waters outside Canadian jurisdiction.
Paul Pitcher, designated skipper of the vessel, was fined $11,900 for unlawful
possession of sea scallops, and an additional $1,000 for mis-reporting of catch.
On October
25, 2005, fishery officers from the Marystown Detachment monitoring the 3Ps
scallop fishery conducted an inspection of the vessel.
Scallop meat samples obtained from the inspection were analyzed and it was found that
the samples contained 65% sea scallops. They were permitted to fish Icelandic
scallops at the time, but the 3Ps sea scallop fishery was closed. An
investigation was initiated and subsequent charges were laid.
Fishers fined for lobster violations
Two men from North Harbour, Placentia Bay have been fined a total of $4,000 for possession of
illegal lobster.
Edward Bailey (licence holder) was convicted in Clarenville Provincial Court on
September 20, 2006 for possession of four undersized lobsters and one V-notched lobster and
fined $1,000 and $1,500 respectively.
Christopher Bailey was convicted and fined $1,500 for possession of four undersized
lobsters.
A fishery officer from the Placentia Detachment was conducting a vehicle patrol in North Harbour, Placentia Bay on June 14, 2006, when he observed one man rushing to a nearby shed with a bucket.
During an inspection of the shed, the fishery officer recovered five lobsters of which
four were undersized. A subsequent inspection of the boat revealed one V-notched lobster;
both undersized and V-notched lobsters are illegal to harvest and must be released back into
the water if captured.
V-notching is a voluntarily practice amongst commercial lobster fishers where one in
four egg-bearing female lobsters is notched with a special tool that cuts a V shape from the section of the tail fan. The lobster is then carefully returned to the
water. V-notching remains clearly visible for several years, and allows the female to grow larger, spawn several times and produce more and better quality
eggs.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
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Larry Vaters
Communications Officer
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
709-772-7633
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Kim Penney
Communications Officer
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
709-772-7629
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NR-NL-06-36E |
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