|
JAIL TIME
Courts get tough with lobster poachers
Grand Bank… Thomas J. Kearley and Kevin Lavhey, of Terrenceville, on the Burin Peninsula, will spend time in jail following convictions for lobster poaching and multiple charges under the Criminal Code of Canada. The men appeared in provincial court in Grand Bank on February 2, 2006.
Mr. Lavhey will spend eight months in jail for fishing lobster without a licence, illegal possession of lobster, and 12 additional charges, which included three counts of theft and seven breaches of probation.
Mr. Kearley will spend six months in jail for fishing lobster without a licence, illegal possession of lobster and, as well as, six additional charges laid by the RCMP, including uttering threats and three counts of theft.
In addition to imprisonment, both men were placed on probation for three years with conditions not to be on a vessel less than 65 feet without written authorization from a probation officer, prohibited from fishing inland and coastal waters for a period of 10 years and ordered not to have contact with each other during probation.
A 16 foot fibreglass vessel with all contents and a 25 horsepower outboard motor were forfeited to the Crown.
On May 7, 2005, fishery officers and RCMP officers conducted surveillance of the Yellow Cove area in Fortune Bay. Using a high-powered spotting scope, Mr. Kearley and Mr. Lavhey were observed hauling lobster traps belonging to fishers in the area and retaining all lobster taken from the traps. Fishery officers and RCMP officers used a DFO patrol vessel to intercept the men in Mr. Lavhey's vessel.
Shawn Baker, of Bay L’Argent, was convicted of using an illegal lobster trap, fishing lobster without licence and illegal possession of lobster when he appeared in Grand Bank Provincial Court on January 18, 2006.
Mr. Baker was fined $750 or 30 days in jail for each offence, totalling $2,250 or 180 days.
On August 10, 2005, while on routine surveillance patrol in Bay L'Argent, fishery officers from the Marystown Detachment observed Mr. Baker illegally fishing lobster from a fishing stage using three baited hoop nets, which is illegal gear.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada would like to remind the public that buying or possessing illegally caught lobster is a crime and punishable by law. We appreciate your support in the conservation of the lobster resource.
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
|
