Particle.news
Download on the App Store
3 ARTICLES
·
12h ago

Ottawa Seizes Over 1,000 Lobster Traps in Nova Scotia as Crackdown Intensifies

DFO says the focus is deterring illegal lobster sales to protect FSC fishing rights.

A fishing boat, loaded with traps, heads out from West Dover, N.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Overview

  • The Fisheries Department reports more than 1,000 traps seized off southwestern Nova Scotia since June 1.
  • Officials say multiple arrests have been made, with charges pending that may take time to reach court.
  • Enforcement teams inspected 61 lobster holding facilities over the past three months and released more than 4,400 lobsters from seized gear.
  • Recent actions include arrests on St. Marys Bay on Aug. 27 and Aug. 26, a separate boarding and three arrests on Aug. 20, and two boat seizures with six arrests in Yarmouth County on July 31.
  • The department did not specify links to Indigenous-led fisheries and reiterated that selling, bartering or trading FSC-caught lobster is illegal under the Fisheries Act.