Five people fined for illegal shellfish harvesting on Vancouver Island

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is reminding shellfish harvesters to check closure status before every harvest after a group was fined a total of $19,000 for illegal fishing activities. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Canada (Mandatory Credit)

CAMPBELL RIVER — Five people have been fined a combined $19,000 after harvesting shellfish from a contaminated area on Vancouver Island.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada says officers were patrolling in late June when they came across people harvesting shellfish from an area in Campbell River, B.C., that was closed under the Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program.

The department says shellfish harvested from closed areas can contain contaminants, bacteria, viruses or biotoxins that aren’t visible and can cause illness or death.

It says harvesting from those areas also puts the public at risk, threatens sustainable fisheries and disadvantages harvesters who comply with the law.

Besides being fined, three of the people were also convicted of licence violations and one of providing a false statement to a fishery officer.

The department says officers seized more than 130 Pacific oysters and some mussels and Manila clams, with all live shellfish returned to the harvest site.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2026.