Fishermen caught a man with shrimp traps in an area closed to fishing to protect the glass sponges that were building reefs. Canada has international agreements to protect this underwater species.
A man who found prawns trapped in a protected area by glass sponge reefs in Howe Sound has been fined $ 40,000.
John Howard Troy Henderson pleaded guilty to placing or setting shrimp traps in a closed time contrary to the Federal Fisheries Act.
Fishermen were in the area of the glass sponge reef of the defense islands when their propeller became entangled in a line of buoys on May 29, 2019. When lifting the buoy, they found data of registered vessel license registration.
Officers determined that Henderson was the owner of the buoy line. He was notified that he had placed a series of shrimp traps within the closing limit of the reef.
Henderson confirmed that the traps were his, and told officers he had no idea there was a glass sponge reef in there. He said he was unaware of the closure and that it was not his intention to put the traps in a closed area.
The reef has been closed to fishing since 2015.
Glass sponges are fragile, rare, filter-feeding animals made of skeletons made of glass, Sechelt Provincial Court Judge Steven Merrick said in a May 25 ruling. Slow-growing but long-lived species live more than 200 years.
Reef-building glass sponges were common 200 million years ago, but were thought to be extinct until they were discovered in BC and Washington state in the late 1980s.
The skeletons remain after the individual sponges die and new sponges are installed on these skeletons, creating mounds or reefs. Glass sponges can be up to 19 meters high and more than a kilometer wide, the judge said.
“Canada has international obligations to protect glass sponge reefs in accordance with the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the Food and Agriculture Code of the United Nations United for Responsible Fisheries, “Merrick said.
Crown demanded a $ 50,000 fine while the defense demanded a $ 10,000 fine.
The judge said the reef is a delicate place, not easy to rejuvenate.
This is certainly not the first case of a high fine for this activity in this area.
In November 2021, a commercial fisherman who placed 33 shrimp traps inside a protected area of glass sponge reefs in Howe Sound was fined $ 25,000 and his fishing license was suspended. prawns for a year. That was after the May 2016 crimes.
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