Major halibut fishing investigation leads to dozens of charges, catch seizures

A "major case" investigation into illegal halibut fishing in the Sambro area of Nova Scotia has led to dozens of fishery violation charges and the seizure of a long-line fishing boat, cash and halibut worth $40,000.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans said in a statement Tuesday that 66 charges related to the illegal possession and sale of harvested halibut have been laid in court on two occasions.

In total eight people and five companies are accused of multiple offences including offload without a monitor, inaccurate hail, inaccurate logbook, possession of undersized halibut, providing false statements to a fishery officer and fishing without authorization.

The companies charged are Sambro-based A.L.S. Fisheries, Law Fisheries, Starfish Fisheries, Bedford-based XLZ Holdings and Starfish Licences.

Operation began in 2020

"Fisheries and Oceans Canada has a mandate to protect and conserve marine resources and to prosecute offenders under the Fisheries Act," the department said in a release issued Tuesday.

The operation goes back two years but was only revealed this week after 41 charges were laid on Dec.13 in Halifax provincial court.

The accused are scheduled to return to court for arraignment next month.

Seizure in 2020

According to the DFO statement, officialsseized a 50-foot longline fishing boat in June 2020 as well asrelated fishing gear, two vehicles, a 28-foot enclosed trailer, a compact track loader, 7,461 pounds of halibut valued at approximately $40,000, including 17 undersized halibut, and $36,000 in cash.

On Jan.7, 2021, a total of 25 individual charges were laid for halibut fishing violations related to the case.

Those charged in January 2021 are scheduled for a court appearance in spring 2022.

No news release was issued related to this initial set of charges.

N.S.halibut fishery targeted in prior crackdown

Halibut is the most valuable species for groundfish licence holders in Nova Scotia.

In 2019 landings were worth $49 million and accounted for well over half of the value of the groundfish fishery in the province.

This is not the first DFO operation targeting the halibut fishery in Nova Scotia.

In 2015, the last of 11 harvesters was convicted after a lengthy investigation into misreporting catches.

In 2019, a Sambro halibut fisherman convicted of underreporting his catch by 40 per cent was ordered to pay an additional $49,376 penalty after a Supreme Court judge ruled a previous penalty for the repeat offender was too light.

"DFO is committed to protecting and safeguarding the long-term health and productivity of Canada's fisheries resources, and enforcing the regulations related to the harvesting, buying, selling and/or possession of fish," the department said in its statement Tuesday.

MORE TOP STORIES