QUÉBEC CITY, QUÉBEC--(Marketwire - Feb. 16, 2012) - Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Quebec region, has released a list of offenders from Gaspé and Lower St. Lawrence that were fined in November and December 2011 as well as January 2012 for various infringements of the Fisheries Act.
The fines imposed on the offenders total $33,750. In addition to a fine, one of the offenders had his catch and some of his illegal gear confiscated. Restrictions were imposed on another offender forbidding him to be on the banks of the St. Lawrence River, between Trois-Pistoles and Baie-des-Sables, for 36 months. The offenders are:
| Offender and home | Offence | Fine |
| Sylvain Arsenault (Bonaventure) |
Tuna fishing without authorization. | $750 |
| Mario Blais (Saint-François-de-Pabos) |
Fishing without a licence and use of a net for groundfish fishery less than 5 metres from the surface of the water. | $2,000 |
| Gilles Côté (Grande-Vallée) Raynald Richard (Petite-Vallée) |
Sportfishing for Atlantic cod during a closed time. | $500 each |
| Dean Dow (Shigawake) Larry G. Dow (Saint-Godefroi) Peter Hackett (Paspébiac) Steven Walker (Shigawake) |
Mackerel fishing without valid conditions. | $1,000 each |
| Thérèse Kenney (Sainte-Anne-des-Monts) |
Exceeding the allowed quota for sportfishing for Atlantic cod. | $300 |
| Bernard Labbé (Percé) Valère Daraiche (Percé) |
Use of lobster traps without valid tags. | $500 each |
| Michel Labrecque (Petit-Cap) |
Unloading Atlantic halibut without a dockside observer. | $3,000 |
| Trent Langlois (Gaspé) |
Possession of a v-notched female lobster. | $500 |
| Guy Leblanc (Carleton) |
Deviation from shrimp fishing conditions by using illegal gear. | $5,000 + Confiscation of the catch and part of the illegal gear |
| Marcel Roy (Pointe-à-la-Frégate) |
Greenland halibut fishing without a licence. | $13,000 |
| Gérald Sim (Baie-des-Sables) |
Harvesting molluscs in a closed area. | $700 + Banned from the banks of the St. Lawrence River, between Trois-Pistoles and Baie-des-Sables, for 36 months. |
| James Micheal Sullivan (Shigawake) |
Mackerel fishing without valid conditions. | $1,000 |
| Andrew Vibert (Percé) |
Lobster fishing using too many traps. | $1,500 |
Fisheries and Oceans Canada has a mandate to protect and conserve marine resources and prosecute offenders under the Fisheries Act. To report a poacher, dial 1-800-463-9057. All calls are anonymous and confidential.
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Contact Information:
Communications Advisor
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Quebec, Quebec
418-648-7893