Fishery guardians going after salmon poachers

By Gary Kean

FOR THE SOU’WESTER

Another two illegally-set nets had been removed from the waters of western Newfoundland in mid-June.

The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the provincial Inland Fish Enforcement Program coordinated an effort – based on information provided by the general public – to monitor a couple of areas believed to have been targeted by Atlantic salmon poachers.

The work paid off, with a net being removed from Fischells River in the Bay St. George area by DFO and another one removed from the coastal waters near Port aux Basques on the southwest coast by IFEP.

Five salmon were in the nets found in Fischells and three people are facing poaching charges. Two people were expected to be charged with offences in relation to the net found off Port aux Basques, which contained three salmon.

The alleged poachers in the Port aux Basques case also had 15 lobsters in their possession.

“The great thing about the coordination is that it allowed many more officers to be concentrating on separate places, whereby just a few years ago we would find ourselves often on the same complaint without any knowledge of each others’ whereabouts,” said Brent Watkins, DFO’s detachment supervisor in Stephenville, N.L.

In the past few years, there has been a much more coordinated effort to curb poaching activity as DFO and the provincial government have joined forces with the Federation of Newfoundland Indians’ river guardians and a number of stewardship and conservation groups to promote education and increase awareness of protecting the resource.

On the opening day of the salmon angling season, a 120-foot net was removed from Little Barachois River. The net did not contain any salmon.

Watkins noted the continued vigilance of the general public in offering up tips on illegal activity should send a message to poachers.

“The public is becoming much more aware of the importance of the salmon resource through the educational and awareness campaigns of the various stewardship groups,” he said. “The Bay St. George Salmon Conservation group is especially active in the Bay St. George area and actively promote the presence of anglers on the rivers to help in conservation, and it's working in this area.”

(Gary Kean is a journalist with Transcontinental Media’s Western Star, which is a contributor to the Sou’Wester.)