Man sets salmon free from poacher’s net
A bust of a major poaching ring on the Northern Peninsula can serve as a warning to the rest of the province, according to officials. Ron Burton, area chief of conservation and protection with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said they had been aware of the illegal activity off the coast of Conche for as long as a year. Normal efforts of boat patrols and day-long surveillances weren’t successful in catching the culprits. Burton said the challenges of getting into the small, isolated area undetected was the problem. The provincial Department of Justice’s Inland Fisheries Enforcement Program was approached. Together the two agencies pooled their resources and established an undercover surveillance plan that was executed during the first week of July. Five days of evidence was gathered and 10 individuals were identified as being involved in the poaching ring, and Sunday a search warrant was executed in the community. The 51 charges on the 10 individuals include netting salmon in coastal waters, possession of untagged salmon, and trafficking of salmon. “This was all coastal activity,” Burton told The Western Star on Friday. “They had their nets set in the salt water, marine environment and were leaving the community, going out and hauling these nets, getting the salmon and coming back to process them and selling some around the community and also outside.” The day the search was executed, 40 to 50 salmon were seized. The department indicated that as many as 80 to 90 salmon had been previously seized from nets found in the area. “You do the math on that, if this type of activity was allowed to be ongoing for days and weeks on end, there definitely could be a significant impact on the salmon in that area,” Burton said. “These fish are dead now and they won’t be able to get in the rivers and spawn. That’s the whole point of why we take this so serious. We want to make sure these fish get into the rivers and some of the recreational fisherman can get to enjoy these fish and some of the fish actually get up the rivers to spawn for future generations. It’s very important they do that.” He said the federal officials will continue to work with the provincial department to bring individuals throughout the province to task for this illegal activity. Jim Maloney, chief of enforcement with the Inland Fish Enforcement Program, said this type of operation is exactly what the program was created for. “We are hoping this will serve as a very powerful deterrent to others like-minded,” he said. “We have to be realistic, Conche is one coastal community of hundreds across this province where the same type of activity could be taking place.” He said the salmon nets were set in the traditional salmon berths, where he said the probability of thousands of fish could be caught during the summer migration period. Meanwhile, prior to this bust, since the provincial enforcement program began in May, officers have laid a total of 105 charges against 53 individuals for offenses related to fishing infractions such as illegal netting of fish in inland and coastal waters, illegal possession of salmon and trout, exceeding bag limits and angling during closed times. Officers have seized a total of 24 salmon, about 130 trout, five boats and motors, an ATV, 12 illegal nets, 15 codfish, 54 cod fillets and other associated fishing equipment.