Vancouver Island man fined $60K for unauthorized work that damaged fish habitat, DFO says

An image shared with the DFO's release shows an excavator in operation along the shore of the river. (DFO)

A Vancouver Island man has been fined $60,000 for “destroying vital fish habitat,” according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

The fine stems from work David Tingley had done illegally on his property and then failed to undo, despite being ordered to remediate it by June 15, 2020, the DFO said in a statement Tuesday.

The federal department said Tingley was found guilty in Courtenay provincial court in January for failing to correct the work.

The $60,000 fine was directed to Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund and earmarked for “the conservation and protection of salmon and salmon habitat in the Vancouver Island region,” the DFO said.

The department said the work on Tingley’s property – which is bisected by the Trent River – was done without Fisheries Act authorization “over successive years.”

The Trent River is “an important, fish-bearing watercourse,” and the unauthorized work “affected fish and fish habitat,” the DFO said.

An image shared with the department’s release shows an excavator in operation along the shore of the river.

The DFO asks anyone with information about violations of the Fisheries Act and its associated regulations to contact its toll-free reporting line at 800-465-4336 or to email [e-mail].