Recent convictions and fines for BC Lodge Poachers
 

29k? I guess that's pretty significant for most peopole.


https://bc.ctvnews.ca/fishers-fined-...ches-1.6806139

Three people, including the operator of a British Columbia fishing lodge, have been fined $29,000 after they were found guilty last month of multiple fishing-related offences.

Provincial court records show Yu Rang Tang, Bai Jia Ye and Sheng Hui Zhao were all convicted on Feb. 8 of possessing more than twice the daily quota of clams, and for possessing a prohibited clam species. Ye was also found guilty of an additional charge of possessing more than twice the daily quota of rockfish.


The charges stem from a Fisheries and Oceans Canada investigation that began in September 2022.

The federal agency says its officers were on patrol in Egmont, B.C., when they saw three people fishing from the dock of a fishing lodge that is also a private home.

The agency says the butter and varnish clams were prohibited from harvest at that time due to potential contamination, while the daily limit of rockfish for a licensed angler is one fish per day and the daily limit for clam fishing is 60 clams per day.

The officers seized all of the fish and shellfish as evidence, according to authorities.

Along with the fines, the three fishers were handed fishing prohibitions and were banned from attending the fishing lodge for periods of one to two years, according to the DFO.

"The significant fines and prohibitions handed down in this case underscore the seriousness of violating fishing rules and regulations under Canada’s Fisheries Act intended to protect and preserve at-risk fish populations," the DFO said in the release.

The agency says excessive harvesting continues to pose a significant risk to the sustainability of Canada's aquatic ecosystems.

Rockfish species are especially susceptible to overfishing, according to the DFO, because they are slow to grow and reproduce, staying close to their home habitats over their lifespans, which average about 75 years.

Oh, those Russians

When the Red Tide warnings were in place back home clam harvesting was shut down. You could drive past Nanoose Bay on the hyw and see all of these guys buddies out on the flats in the pitch black with lanterns filling buckets with clams...

i hope it was $29g per person

They don't know the regulations/dont care? or aren't worried about getting sick?

Don’t care. Same thing on the crab docks. Buckets full of undersized and wrong species. If they get caught they just play dumb and claim they can’t read the regs.

Me No English! I have seen it here in Alberta.

We need to stop this
 

There is not an unlimited supply of wild life and we all need to respect limits and all other restrictions.

Are there other things that we can do?

On the plus side I had finished my day on the Crowsnest near Lundbreck falls, and was still sitting on one of the rocks watching a fellow fisherman who was upstream from me. A F&W office came up to me and asked, "Is he keeping any?" and I told the truth and said no. His response was "You guys never do".

That's the way we try to protect our beloved hobby.

What’s the excuse when white guys get caught? “Me no care?!” I have seen it here in Alberta too.

You hear all kinds of excuses, but with many immigrants, they claim that they can't understand the regulations, because of the language. And immigrants from certain parts of the world, seem to care a lot less about the regulations, whether it's hunting ,fishing, firearms laws, etc.

No lack of white poachers they just put more effort into hiding it. Probably the biggest ones I hear in Alberta is guys who live on a lake just bring fish home and go back out. No lack of landowners I have met that have the mentality they can shoot whatever they want off of their land because they feed them or simply it their land

Sure I have seen immigrants that poach but part of the reason you do notice it more is a portion don’t take the time to read the regs and assume they are ok to do as they do. Yes some don’t care

Some just hide it more

That is a big part of it, in certain parts of the world there aren't many regulations, and when they come here, they assume that it is the same here. And many simply don't care . And yes many poachers are locals, but most aren't as blatant about their poaching.

Knowing the laws and being sneaky or too lazy or don’t care to learn the laws and being blatant doesn’t make one better than the other. Both are a problem because the impact is the same in the end

I see more hope in educating those that don’t know the regs vs those who knowingly choose to poach

Knowingly poaching vs. ignorance of the law are really just one in the same in terms of the outcomes. Agree that if someone really hasn't educated themselves on the regs, there is likely more hope for them.

At the end of the day, it's not up to us to be judge, jury and executioner. Keep this number handy: 1-800-642-3800 (Report a Poacher). Leave it up to the F&W officers and the courts to make those decisions.

True, but from what I have witnessed, the local that makes the effort to learn the regulations is more likely to keep the fish that is 1/2 cm short, or keep one extra, whereas the person that just doesn't care, will keep every fish he/she catches. The only thing that either one seems to respond to, is losing the fish and being charged.

Both suck I think we are in full agreement on that

At least it only hurts them and not the species during red tide.... I really wonder how many people actually get sick each year? You don't really hear about people dying considering how serious they say it can be... I assume most people just get diarrhea at worst.

I spent probably 100 hours researching all the rules/regs before vacationing out there. I know them better than most locals. But I would assume those clowns that got charged knew the rules and broke them regardless.

Was down on the North Sask last Friday doing some early spring walleye fishing and was approached by an officer. He did his due diligence and checked everything and then we chatted for about 30 minutes about stuff, and he said it's very rare for him to do the route that he was on at the time and not hand out Fines. He of course also shared his card and asked tgat we keep an eye out and give him a call if we see anything. Let's face it as we all know Alberta has the most fishing pressure per water body then anywhere else in Canada...and that's A LOT more...so let's keep our eyes open and our phones handy...them more pressure we put on the baddies.....the less likely they re to keep doing what they do...and if they "Don't speak English" just mention that an enforcement officer is on the way...that will absolutely confirm the fact or not. It's just like the out of control theft in most of Albert's urban and lots of rural areas....if ya just bitch, the baddies don't care...if ya start speaking up...they start to get the point...

I have tried to report once. It takes a long while to describe the location, the illegal activities, and what the person looks like....Can someone design an app to offer to our Government? GPS location, Photo Upload, Descriptions...It will make things much easier and I believe more people will participate this way.