Tag Archives: Debbie Buott-Matheson
DFO ordered to improve officer gear to counter threat from ‘criminals’ with firearms
In a report issued Friday to the Fisheries Department, the federal Labour Program’s compliance unit concludes “protective equipment and tactical protocols” currently used during fisheries investigations are inadequate. The investigator concludes fishery officers in the Maritime region are having to confront people with weapons, including cases where intelligence indicates the fisher “keeps an assault rifle on board.” The report also says there are cases where “outlaw motorcycle gangs are armed with firearms.” It concurs with fishery officers that “a number of the illegal fishers that officers deal with regularly are convicted violent criminals and have threatened officers directly and on social media.” Doug Wentzell, the federal Fisheries Department’s regional manager for the Maritimes, said in an interview last week that a number of officers have refused field work, but he declined to say how many. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:45
Another dead sturgeon found as review of turbines threat remains in planning process
Another dead sturgeon has been found downstream of the Annapolis Tidal Turbine. Meanwhile a promised review of whether the 20 megawatt turbine kills fish at population levels by the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat remains in the planning process. “The terms of reference for the review have been drafted,” said Debbie Buott-Matheson, spokeswoman for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, in a written response. “We have not yet set a date for a CSAS peer review meeting, but it is considered a priority going forward.” That review was announced in January after a series of stories in the Chronicle Herald detailing how the turbine, which opened in a causeway crossing the Annapolis River in 1982, was never granted an exemption under the Fisheries Act to kill fish. >click to read<18:58
