Owners of Canadian fishing vessel Ocean Provider fined and over 30,000 pounds of tuna seized

PORT ALBERNI, BC   , Sept. 13, 2023 /CNW/ - On June 28, 2023, the numbered company 1269039 BC Ltd. (multiple partners)?which owns the Canadian commercial fishing vessel, Ocean Provider?was sentenced in Port Alberni Provincial Court. The company pleaded guilty to fishing for albacore tuna between July 22 and August 15, 2022, without the authority of a valid licence, contrary to the Pacific Fishery Regulations, 1993. This is a serious violation of the Fisheries Act and Canada's international fisheries obligations.

The Court fined the vessel owners $6,000 and upheld the seizure of 2,250 tuna, totalling 31,956 lbs., valued at $127,824, which was forfeited to the Crown.

The Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) investigation resulted from routine fisheries inspections of the Canada/United States fishing fleets conducted by fishery officers on board the vessel CCGS Tanu. Officers boarded Ocean Provider at sea, 42 nautical miles offshore of Barkley Sound on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, near Bamfield, British Columbia. The crew were actively fishing and officers determined that the vessel was not licensed to fish for tuna at that time. The vessel was escorted to port by the fishery officers where the catch was offloaded for processing and seizure.

DFO has a mandate to protect and conserve marine resources and to enforce the Fisheries Act. As part of DFO's work to disrupt and prevent illegal activity, the Department asks the public for information on activities of this nature or any contravention of the Fisheries Act and regulations. Anyone with information can call DFO Pacific region's toll-free violation reporting line at 1-800-465-4336, or email the details to  [email protected]. 

• Excess and illegal harvesting threatens conservation. It also could result in management changes or closures, diminish the significant economic benefit from the fishery to coastal communities, recreational fisheries, commercial harvesters, and threaten the food source for Indigenous people.
• These significant penalties underscore the potential consequences for commercial harvesters who fail to comply with Canada's Fisheries Act. 

Associated Links: North Pacific albacore tuna fishery | Pacific Region | Fisheries and Oceans Canada (dfo-mpo.gc.ca)

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SOURCE Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Region