Tag Archives: fishing in a prohibited area
Fishermen accused of poaching in a Marine Reserve using gear stolen from fellow crabbers
Two North Coast fishermen face criminal charges after allegedly poaching crab in the protected Cape Falcon Marine Reserve using gear stolen from fellow crabbers. Scott Edward Giles, 39, most recently of Ilwaco, Washington, and deckhand Travis Richard Westerlund, 34, of Astoria, face multiple criminal charges, including theft, criminal mischief, unlawful take and fishing in a prohibited area, following an indictment in August. Given the amount of stolen gear found in his possession, Giles, the captain of the commercial fishing vessel The Baranof, faces felony theft charges. The pots were marked with a variety of paint colors, leading investigators to conclude they had been stolen from other fishermen. The pots were later tracked back to seven different commercial crabbers between Astoria and Newport.,, >click to read< 17:10
Nunavut court: case alleging illegal turbot fishing to go ahead
Despite the length of time their case has sat before the Nunavut court, a subsidiary of the Baffin Fisheries Coalition, along with the captain of one of the company’s fishing vessels, will still stand trial for fishing in illegal waters. That’s according to a written decision, released Dec. 12, from Justice Bonnie Tulloch of the Nunavut Court of Justice. The trial of Oujukoaq Fisheries Ltd. and its employee, David Dempsey, has twice been scheduled to proceed in an Iqaluit courtroom, most recently from Dec. 5 to Dec. 9, 2016. The co-accused face a single charge each under the Fisheries Act, dating to 2012, that alleges illegal turbot fishing in a prohibited area. But an application from defence lawyers to dismiss those charges due to unreasonable delays, filed in October 2016, cancelled the most recent trial date. Now, in her decision, Tulloch rejected that application and said the trial should be rescheduled as soon as possible. “It is a case with far-reaching implications for commercial fishermen in Canada. It is a case that deserves to be decided on its merit,” Tulloch said. Read the story here 11:39
