A Canadian judge levied a CAD 33,596 (USD 24,470, EUR 22,406) fine to a commercial halibut fishing vessel for violating Canada’s fisheries act.
According to an announcement from Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Judge Roy Dickey fined Brent Belveal, the owner and operator of the halibut-fishing vessel Gypsy Soul, for fishing inside the Hecate Strait Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reef marine protected area (MPA). The area, located near Bella Bella, B.C., was formed in February 2017 and covers an area of 2,410 square kilometers.
The DFO said Belveal illegally sold his catch from the area and committed the acts on 4 and 5 April 2020. The incident was captured with electronic monitoring data provided to the DFO as part of the licensing process for halibut fishing.
The protected area was formed to protect the glass sponge reefs, which are approximately 9,000 years old and considered the largest living example of a glass sponge reef, DFO said.
"Given the historical engagement of the groundfish sector on the MPA closures, current technology and electronic equipment available and used by fishermen, and the extensive and highly publicized sponge reef closed areas, it is the responsibility of all harvesters to know the rules and follow them,” DFO said. “Harvesters who disregard fishery closures under the Fisheries Act and the Oceans Act MPA regulations pose a risk of causing new damage to the reefs, and undermine decades of work to provide protection to these globally unique ecosystems.”
