SECHELT,
BC, July 10, 2024 /CNW/ - On June 11, 2024, the Honourable Judge Steven Merrick of the Sechelt Provincial Court
fined George Winkler $70,000 for offences under Canada's Fisheries Act. Mr. Winkler
pleaded guilty in October 2023 to
violating the fish and fish habitat protection provisions of the
Act by undertaking work that resulted in the death of fish and
the destruction of fish habitat.
The case stems from November 22,
2021, when Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) received
information about an excavator operating within Stephens Creek on a
property at Lower Road in Roberts
Creek, Sechelt. The
excavator was dredging out the stream bed of Stephens Creek and
using the materials to build up the banks on either side of the
creek.
On November 26, 2021, DFO fishery
officers and biologists inspected the site and collected salmon
eggs lying on and buried within the dredged material. Subsequent
analysis confirmed that the dead eggs were pink or chum salmon. The
unauthorized dredging work also resulted in the harmful alteration,
disruption and destruction of 38.7
m2 of aquatic habitat.
An environmental impact statement submitted to the Provincial
Court outlined that Mr. Winkler's actions could have completely
eliminated the 2021 salmon run from Stephens Creek, which was
already seeing some of the lowest historical returns of chum salmon
to the mainland Inlets and Strait of Georgia. His actions will also likely
adversely affect salmon production in Stephens Creek for years to
come.
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 DFO.ORR-ONS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
Quick Facts:
- Stephens Creek feeds directly into the Strait of Georgia and its chum salmon contribute to the
inside southern chum stock. In any year, if the stock in the Strait
of Georgia does not reach the
critical abundance threshold of 1 million established in the
Pacific Salmon Treaty between Canada and the US, then mixed stock fisheries
in Johnstone Strait, which feeds
into the Strait of Georgia, are to
be suspended.
- In May 2020, Mr. Winkler was
issued a warning by DFO fishery officers for conducting similar
activities, with the same excavator, in the same location, and this
was an aggravating factor considered by Judge Merrick.
- Fishery officers work closely with biologists from DFO's Fish
and Fish Habitat Protection Program to ensure any work undertaken
near water complies with the fish and fish habitat protection
provisions of the Fisheries Act.
Associated Link: Projects near water
(dfo-mpo.gc.ca)
Image: Submitted as evidence during the trial.
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SOURCE Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Region