Tag Archives: RCMP
In once tranquil N.S. town, intimidation in the lobster industry now all too common
Standing by a bullet hole in his dining room wall, lobster buyer Geoffrey Jobert says such attacks have become an all-too-familiar reality in Nova Scotia’s largest fishery. The 30-year-old and his younger brother came to the area from Halifax to take over his father’s processing plant five years ago and now employ 100 people. He’s enjoyed making friends in the francophone town and paddling along a stunning beach near his home when he has a few spare hours. But last year, threats started after he agreed to buy the catch of a licensed, commercial harvester who was no longer willing to provide his catch to facilities allegedly purchasing illegally caught lobster. And Jobert soon learned he wasn’t the only person in the communities along the Acadian shore who experienced late-night attacks. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:35
Organized crime linked to illegal lobster fishing ‘terrorizing the community,’ N.S. minister claims
Nova Scotia’s fisheries minister says the federal failure to stop what he calls illegal out-of-season fishing in some of the most lucrative lobster grounds in the country has fuelled organized crime that is “terrorizing the community” along a stretch of the province’s southwest. Kent Smith made the comments in a letter last week to his federal counterpart, Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier, in which he claims the illegal fishery has “entrenched itself” in the region of Clare and surrounding areas. “This is not related to Indigenous harvesting,” Smith said. “This is illegal lobster fishing that is causing havoc on the ground down there, causing havoc in the community and causing a lot of fear and anxiety in Clare and Meteghan.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:50
RCMP Officers find 1.5kg of elvers while arresting man passed out behind the wheel of his truck
An Indian Brook, N.S. man is facing charges after police say he was found impaired by drugs behind the wheel of a car in Concession, N.S., Thursday morning. According to an RCMP news release, officers and emergency responders found the man unconscious in a black Dodge Ram around 6:48 a.m. According to police, he drifted in and out of consciousness and allegedly showed signs of impairment. The man was arrested and taken to the Yarmouth RCMP Detachment, where police say he failed a sobriety test. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:10
Cancelling legal elver fishery has not stopped poaching in N.S.
Nova Scotia RCMP have charged a Parrsboro man with multiple criminal counts after a night time altercation with fishery officers attempting to stop illegal elver fishing in Hubbards this weekend. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans says its officers tried to inspect a vehicle on Saturday “as part of their normal activities to deter and disrupt unauthorized elver harvest.” “An individual obstructed fishery officers from conducting the inspection and struck the officers with their vehicle while fleeing to attempt to avoid arrest. “The fishery officers involved were not injured and alerted local RCMP to the incident,” more, >>click to read<< 19:03
May deaths of two New Brunswick fishermen prompt advisory letter from TSB
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has issued a warning to three government bodies about overloading fishing boats, in response to the deaths of two New Brunswick lobster fishermen earlier this year. Fifty-eight-year-old Eugene Beaudin and his 33-year-old great-nephew, Normand Beaudin, fell off their fishing boat and died in the water off Miscou Island, N.B., on May 6. In the Oct. 30 letter to Transport Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and WorkSafeNB, the safety board’s director of marine investigations, Clifford Harvey, wrote that the vessel Tracy Dawn left the harbour loaded with 119 traps and encountered rough weather. Harvey says the fishers fell overboard trying to drop traps into the water. >>click to read<< 18:50
RCMP respond to Saturday boat fire at in Digby County, N.S.
The Digby RCMP officers and fire fighters responded to a report of a fishing boat that caught fire at the Sandy Cove wharf in Digby, N.S., Saturday. In a news release Sunday, police say the fire did spread from a 36-foot fishing boat to a second boat also docked at the wharf. Once the fire was extinguished, police conducted an investigation into the cause. After reviewing evidence, which included statements and video surveillance, RCMP determined a failure of electrical components on board the boat was to blame. Police say the fire was not deemed suspicious, and the investigation has been concluded. >link< 12:14
Travis Van Hill’s crew was back fishing on Okanagan Lake, but this time without their captain
A month after Travis Van Hill’s shrimp boat capsized on Okanagan Lake, his crew took to the water for the first time. Van Hill drowned when the vessel Western Slope capsized in a windstorm on July 24. His body was recovered Aug. 16. Kim Van Hill, Van Hill’s wife, said two crew members went fishing Thursday night, for the first time without their captain. One former crew member was too traumatized by the incident to return to work. She said the crew paid tribute to Van Hill on their first night back on the water. >click to read< 10:06
Boat recovery underway one week after B.C. man presumed drowned
Travis Van Hill’s family has been waiting for a full week now for the wreckage of his boat to be pulled from the lake. The commercial fishing boat captain went down with his vessel Monday, July 24 during a storm on Okanagan Lake. His body has yet to be located or resurface. Red tape and paperwork have prevented anyone from retrieving him or his boat, according to Travis’ family. “His body will be decomposed and won’t look like my handsome husband,” wife Kim Van Hill said. But today, Monday, July 31, appears to be the day that action may finally take place. >click to read< 16:51
Frustration grows as captain still missing, boat still submerged in Okanagan Lake
It’s been more than three days and there is still no sign of Travis Van Hill, whose shrimp boat capsized on Okanagan Lake during a storm Monday night, July 24. The boat captain’s wife, Kim Van Hill, is frustrated by the amount of red tape around rescuing her husband’s remains from the boat, the tip of which can be seen poking above the waters of Okanagan Lake near Ellison Provincial Park.“A dive team from Vancouver, the dive lead, said he’s never been in this type of rescue and he’s been doing it for 16 years,” she said of the process which has taken too long to recover Travis’ body. It is presumed that Travis is trapped in the boat, and Kim explained that WorkSafeBC needs to sign off on the recovery before the RCMP dive team can retrieve Travis from the boat. >click to read< 09:56
Fisherman missing on Okanagan Lake identified by family
Maddy Pool identified the missing man as her step-father, Travis Van Hill. She says Van Hill was working last night on a boat that fishes for shrimp at night. According to Pool, no storm was forecasted last night, which is why the boats went out. She said the company is “really smart” about storms. “There were two boats out there last night. The one boat made it in safe and the other one didn’t, which was the one that my stepdad was on.” The boat capsized near Ellison Provincial Park at the north end of the lake, and being that Van Hill was working, WorkSafeBC has been called in. >click to read< , and here. 10:50
RCMP identify New Brunswick lobster fishermen who died after falling into ocean
An uncle and his nephew have been identified as the two lobster fishermen who died on the opening day of their season off the northeastern coast of New Brunswick. RCMP Cpl. Sylvain Bergeron said 58-year-old Eugene Beaudin is the uncle of 33-year-old Normand Gilbert Beaudin. Bergeron said the captain, Robert Beaudin — who is related to the two dead men — survived the mishap Saturday and has spoken to the RCMP about what occurred, but details aren’t being released. >click to read< 11:27
‘It’s so sad’: Acadian Peninsula mourns deaths of 2 lobster fishermen
New Brunswick’s Acadian Peninsula is in mourning after two local fishermen died Saturday on the first day of the lobster season in the area. The fishermen died after falling overboard in the waters off Miscou Island. Radio-Canada confirmed the names of the two men Sunday. They are 58-year-old Eugene Beaudin and his nephew, 23-year-old Normand Beaudin. Both men are from Miscou. Gilles Hebert, a former fisherman of 22 years, said the deaths will hit the community hard. “It’s so sad,” he said Sunday. “We’re all people who know each other. When we hear that someone drowned, we’re all touched by that.” >click to read< 19:43
Two fishermen are dead after fall from fishing boat off coast of Lamèque, N.B.
Two men have died after falling from a fishing boat off the coast of Lamèque, N.B., on Saturday, police say. According to a release, members of the RCMP were called at about 8:30 a.m. on Saturday to assist Ambulance New Brunswick and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in locating the two men. “A 58-year-old man was located shortly thereafter and died at the scene as a result of his injuries.” RCMP said. “After a short search, a 33-year-old man was also located deceased.” The release from the Northeast District RCMP said a helicopter, two airplanes, three boats, and several local fishing boats assisted in the search and rescue efforts. >click to read<
Two men deceased following search and rescue efforts – RCMP Press release, >click to read<
Remains found in P.E.I. those of N.B. teen who fell off fishing boat: RCMP
Police say human remains found in Prince Edward Island in September are those of a teenage boy who fell off a fishing boat in New Brunswick in August. The RCMP responded to a report that human remains had been found in the water near Skinners Pond, P.E.I., around 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 29, 2022. At the time, police said it was possible the remains could be connected to the disappearance of 15-year-old Justin Landry. On Monday, the RCMP confirmed the remains have been positively identified as those of Landry. >click to read< August 30, 2022 – RCMP divers take over search for teen who fell overboard from fishing boat – >click to read<
Condolences pour in for N.S. fisherman lost at sea: ‘It’s heart-wrenching’
A Nova Scotian community, along with people and fishers across the province and beyond, are mourning a fisherman who was lost at sea after what has been described as a “freak accident.” The man, whom RCMP have identified as 27-year-old Christian Atwood of Barrington, is presumed to have drowned after he went overboard Boxing Day morning about 11 kilometres south of Cape Sable Island, just off the province’s southernmost tip. Halifax’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre received a mayday about a man overboard at 8:21 a.m. that day. The statement also wished a speedy recovery to the vessel’s captain, who suffered a heart attack and was recently transferred to Halifax. “Christian’s family wishes to thank everyone for their prayers at this time and ask for continued prayer to bring him home,” the statement said. The association also shared a trust account for Atwood’s son. Donations can be made at [email protected]. >click to read< 18:55
Missing Digby County man found dead in Sissiboo River
Graham Cromwell, a lobster fisher from Weymouth Falls, N.S., who went missing in the Sissiboo River on Wednesday, has been found dead about a kilometre away from Gates Lane crossing. According to an RCMP news release, Cromwell’s body was located at 5:30 p.m. AT on Friday. Police were informed on Wednesday that Cromwell, 48, had entered the river near Gates Lane crossing but was not seen exiting. >click to read< 11:38
Nova Scotia: Prosecutors add charges for 25 in lobster pound riot
Prosecutors have added more charges against 25 people accused of entering and ransacking a Nova Scotia lobster pound at the centre of a dispute about an Indigenous self-regulated fishery. Crown lawyer Robert Kennedy, however, said in an interview Tuesday the prosecution is willing to discuss “resolutions” for “at least some” of the accused, which would avoid further court proceedings. In January 2021, the RCMP announced that 23 people were facing a charge of break and enter, with eight also charged with mischief, for their roles in the Oct. 14, 2020, incident at the facility in Middle West Pubnico, N.S. >click to read< 14:55
In Labrador, desperate pleas for search and rescue resources still unanswered
Dwight Russell can’t forget the apologetic words from one of the RCMP officers who came to his door on a Sunday evening in September. “We just don’t have the adequate resources to be able to do this,”,,, Mr. Russell’s son Marc Russell and his crewmate Joey Jenkins had been missing for two days after their boat failed to return to the wharf in Mary’s Harbour, a fishing community of about 350 people in southern Labrador. In this corner of Newfoundland and Labrador, where fishing is a lifeblood for many, the pair weren’t just missing fishermen, they were “Marc” and “Joey.” >click to read<, other related posts, >click here< 09:08
Indian Brook man charged with allegedly threatening fishery officers in St. Marys Bay
In a news release, RCMP said the fisherman was following a coast guard vessel and came “dangerously close” to the bow. A collision was avoided because of maneuvers made by the captain of the coast guard boat. RCMP said the fisherman then threatened fishery officers who were aboard another boat working in the area. >click to read< 13:04
A year ago violence erupted in the lobster fishery, “moderate livelihood” fishery status unresolved
One year ago, confrontation and violence upended the normally business-like commercial lobster season in St. Mary’s Bay and Lobster Fishing Area 35 in southwest Nova Scotia. Tensions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous fishermen in the bay had erupted in several dangerous boat-ramming incidents.,, But a full year later, as the wheels of justice turn ever so slowly, none of those charged have entered a plea. Before we examine how that happened, it’s worth noting some updates in the troubled fishery. >click to read< 10:07
Potlotek chief says lobster traps were seized on first day of fall fishery
A spokesperson from the department of fisheries and oceans confirmed fisheries officers seized 216 traps in St. Peter’s Bay between Wednesday and Thursday for a variety of reasons, including improper tagging and unauthorized tags, adding an investigation is ongoing and no further details will be provided at this time. “It’s like playing the lottery, You put (the traps) out and then you go out to check if you won or you lost. You don’t know if all your gear will be gone when you go out, and I’m just getting sick and tired of it,” he said. This is Cremo’s first season fishing and he said he loves it. He gives half of his catch away to community members and sells the other half to cover his costs. >click to read< 11:56
Search called off for missing Mary’s Harbour fishermen
The RCMP is calling off search efforts for two missing fishermen in Mary’s Harbour after 10 days and 9,460 square nautical miles of area covered.,, “All known areas of interest or abnormality have been explored with the use of trained spotters in the air, a side-scan sonar device, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and other specialized underwater equipment,” the RCMP said. “The two men and their vessel remain missing.” The missing men are Marc Russell and Joey Jenkins, who were on board their vessel, the Island Lady. They were last heard from around 4 p.m. on Sept. 17. >click to read< 13:31
Search expands for missing Labrador fishermen, family and friends hold out hope
The search for Marc Russell and Joey Jenkins of Mary’s Harbour is now in its fifth day, with a large dive team from the RCMP’s underwater recovery team and Deer Lake ground search and rescue en route to the community Wednesday afternoon. The Ocean Seeker, a vessel equipped with advanced underwater imaging and owned by Kraken Robotics, has also been greenlighted to join the search and is on its way. “We were very proud yesterday after asking RCMP to to look into that asset, and last night it came true and they should be here tomorrow,” said Dwight Russell, Marc Russell’s father. >click to read< 15:55
Search resumes for missing Mary’s Harbour fishermen with Canadian Armed Forces, Coast Guard
The search for two missing fishermen from Mary’s Harbour has resumed with the help of the Canadian Armed Forces and the coast guard Monday, after the official search off the coast of southern Labrador was called off Sunday night. The JRCC tweeted around 9 p.m. Sunday that it had suspended the search for the Island Lady,,, Dwight Russell told CBC News on Monday morning his family was told the news around 7 p.m Sunday. After that call, he and his family pressed federal departments like the office of the prime minister, he said, and had been promised the search would resume. But come Monday morning and that promise “has not materialized,,, >click to read< 14:25
‘Our boys deserve more time’ – “This is unacceptable! This is absolutely the wrong decision! It is too soon!”
The father of one of the two men aboard a fishing vessel lost in waters off southern Labrador is appealing to the Canadian Coast Guard to reverse its decision to change its mission from one of search and rescue to recovery. Local fishermen began the search, which was later joined by the Coast Guard and aircraft at the direction of the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in Halifax.,, Dwight Russell said the family learned of Coast Guard’s plans Sunday evening. “But as I write this, the Coast Guard has informed our families that they are pulling out and changing the mission from search & rescue to recovery, and operational control will be turned over to the RCMP. >click to read< 08:36
RCMP charge second man in relation to 2020 fish plant fire
RCMP in Nova Scotia have charged a second man with arson in relation to a fire that destroyed a fish plant in 2020 amid tensions over a Mi’kmaq lobster fishery in southwestern Nova Scotia.,, Investigators determined the fire was the result of arson. Police say they arrested Sean Roy Messenger, 29, of Shelburne County without incident on Wednesday. Messenger has been charged with arson. He was released on a promise to appear before a judge in Yarmouth Provincial Court. In July, 24-year-old Brendan Douglas James Porter, of East Pubnico, was also arrested and charged with arson, >click to read< 17:08
RCMP investigating Mi’kmaq lobster boat tie-up line slashing allegation
The RCMP are opening a criminal investigation into a report that nine lobster fishing boats operated by Mi’kmaq fishers were purposely cut loose from a wharf Thursday in southwestern Nova Scotia. Sipekne’katik First Nation Chief Mike Sack has alleged the boats were cast adrift from their berths in Weymouth North, N.S., to damage the band’s property and intimidate its fishers. The Mounties said in an email today they are taking the complaint seriously and looking into the matter. video, >click to read< 11:47
Man charged with arson for fish plant fire
A 24-year-old man from East Pubnico, N.S., is facing a charge of arson in connection with a lobster pound fire in Middle West Pubnico, last October. RCMP say they were called to the fish plant near midnight on Oct. 16, 2020, after receiving a report of a fire. The fire destroyed the plant, which was unoccupied at the time. Brendon Douglas James Porter of East Pubnico was arrested on Wednesday and charged with arson. He has been released on conditions and is scheduled to appear in Shelburne provincial court next month. >click to read< 14:14
Chief worried that harassment by ‘fish cops’ of First Nations could lead to violence
Chief Allan Adam, grand chief of Justice for Treaty 8 nations, says he’s tired of his people being “portrayed as criminals” for hunting and fishing, as is their right to do, without provincial licenses. He also says he’s tired of “fish cops (that) are more racist than the RCMP.” Last month, the Sovereign Nations of Treaty No. 8 launched a campaign introducing incident report forms in an effort to capture every time-past and current-that members have been “harassed, racially profiled, or discriminated against, while expressing (their) inherent harvesting rights” by the RCMP, Fish and Wildlife officers, Conservation officers, sheriffs, government employees and others. >click to read< 19:46
International: BC crab poacher has to pay more than $12,000 in penalties
An almost three-year legal odyssey for a persistent local crab poacher, one that involved three enforcement agencies in two countries, ended in Surrey Provincial Court with a conviction, more than $12,000 in penalties, and a five-year ban on fishing anywhere in B.C. But the offender managed to keep his boat after his Canadian court date, unlike what happened to him in the U.S. legal system. >click to read< 10:10
