Nova Scotia introduces new penalties, increased fines to protect seafood industry

Nova Scotia introduces new penalties on illegal fishing.

Nova Scotia is introducing tougher penalties to protect the seafood industry.

The province designated 31 new summary offences with increased fines under the Fisheries and Coastal Resources Act and related regulations, said a new release.

“Designating new summary offences with significant fines reflects our commitment to combatting illegal activities,” said Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Kent Smith. He said the province is taking steps to grow the industry and make coastal communities safer.

Examples of new summary offences include:

• falsifying, unlawfully altering or destroying documents has a $5,000 fine for first offences and $10,000 for subsequent offences
• buying or processing illegally caught fish has a $25,000 fine for a first offence and $50,000 for subsequent offences, plus additional fees

The new summary offence charges are now in effect and conservation officers can issue tickets, said the province. It said new penalties build on recent measures to strengthen compliance, including:

• higher maximum fines
• modernized regulations
• enhanced reporting requirements
• new tools for traceability and enforcement

Nova Scotia announced a unit of inspectors in November to focus on compliance at wharves and seafood facilities regulated by the province. Industry professionals say new summary offences and increased fines will gives officers stronger tools to curb illegal fishing and protect Nova Scotia’s most valuable industry.

“It’s one thing to actually hire the inspectors and to put them on the wharves to do the work, and it’s another thing to actually give them the tools to do that job efficiently,” said Kris Vascotto, executive director with the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance.

Dan Fleck, executive director of the Brazil Rock 33/34 Lobster Association, spent more than 30-years working with DFO and says stiffer fines and regulations promote compliance, not punishment.

“We don’t want to see anyone charged or apprehended,” said Fleck. “But we do want people to stay in line and adhere to conservation measures.”

Most previous summary offence tickets carry fines less than $1,000, said the release. It is estimated as much as 30 per cent of annual lobster landed in Atlantic Canada goes unreported, representing up to $400 million in taxable income.

“Even if we could recoup some of that four hundred million dollars we’d be taking a big step in the right direction,” said Smith.

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