DFO enforcement: “We’re on a roll”

By Tina Comeau

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

From fines in the tens of thousands of dollars, to an historic sized bust of undersized lobsters, DFO enforcement officials in southwestern Nova Scotia have, in the words of one of their own, been on a roll.

But while fishermen are seeing the end results they aren’t necessarily seeing the enforcement itself, which is becoming more high tech then anyone could have imagined.

Yes, fishery officers still rely on fishermen and the public to share tips with them. For many investigations, this type of information can prove crucial. But Dave Bishara, the acting area chief of enforcement and protection for southwestern Nova Scotia, says times and enforcement are changing.

This change played a key role in one recent case that resulted in a guilty plea and a fine of $21,000 for fishing untagged traps. The undercover investigation that helped to nab the Shelburne County fisherman involved secretly marking lobsters while they were still in the water. When the person they suspected of illegal fishing later had his catch inspected at the wharf by fishery officers, among the lobsters in his possession were 15 of the marked ones.

“We explore every possible avenue that we can find in reference to new technology, especially with all of the electronic technology that’s out there,” says Bishara, who says while he can’t divulge the intricate details of the new methods of enforcement he can say they cover a wide gamut.

“Some of it is just so common sense it’s overlooked…but there is all kinds of equipment out there to mark lobsters, there’s invasive and non-invasive technology.”

One example is microchips that can be used to mark lobsters.

“What’s out there is incredible and…I don’t think it’s much of a secret that it’s something that every enforcement agency explores,” Bishara says.

Because it’s a big ocean, and a limited number of patrol vessels and human resources can only do so much.

“The fishermen and the Canadian taxpayer deserves the best bang for its buck. If our results and our outputs and our performances aren’t there, that means we fail,” Bishara says. “But lately we have not been failing, lately we’ve been on a roll.”

And Bishara says the department can’t afford to fail, at least that’s the message he hears from fishermen, particularly those looking to pass the torch onto the next generation of fishermen but are worried about the impact of the over-achievers – those who don’t fish by the rules.

“They’re cheating their communities, they’re cheating their relatives and they’re cheating their friends,” says Bishara.

“I’ve heard from quite a few fishermen, fathers, who say they’re happy we’re getting these over-achievers,” he adds, saying they’re trying to pass on a message to their children, which is the same one DFO tries to send out. “You can earn a good living, we want to keep the fishery for years, but it’s not going to stay there if people overfish. Maybe sometimes people have to think about respecting each other.”