SYDNEY: Conservation officers with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans seized about 2,230 kilograms of illegal halibut off the eastern coast of Cape Breton last month.
Pat Young, acting conservation protection supervisor in the Sydney office, said no charges have been laid and the incident is still under investigation.
“On Aug. 20, 2015, while fisheries officers were on patrol, they observed what appeared to be an illegal transshipment of fish off eastern Cape Breton,” he said.
The boat that caught the halibut had a valid licence to fish another species but had exceeded its allowance for bycatch of halibut, and the receiving vessel did not have a licence, Young said.
“Because halibut is such a high-priced fishery — it’s very valued — and it seems like halibut stocks have really declined recently, there’s a lot of incentive to cheat,” he said.
“We think this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
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