NANAIMO — A local man is facing heavy fines and won’t be fishing for a while after he was caught violating several fisheries laws including making false statements.
Michael Donald Spoor, 57, was fined $6,500, had his fishing gear seized, and is banned from fishing for nine months following guilty pleas to four federal fishing violations on Wednesday, Nov. 15 in a Nanaimo courtroom.
Court heard Spoor and his adult daughter were in the Brechin boat launch parking lot on Zorkin Rd. in Nanaimo on July 27, 2023, around 6 p.m.
Spoor had a truck and trailer with a water vessel attached when they were approached by a fisheries officer.
He provided a tidal water fishing license, and when asked if he caught or retained any fish, Spoor replied, “No.”
The officer noticed two fishing rods in the vessel with gear still attached, including a barbed hook.
There was also a cooler on board.
Inside were a number of fish, including ling cod, greenling, rockfish, Chinook salmon, and five Dungeness crab.
The officer told Spoor providing a false statement was an offence then approached Spoor’s adult daughter in the passenger seat to question her. At this time, the officer noticed Spoor actively moving crab from the cooler into the back hatch of his vessel.
When the officer asked why he was hiding the crab, Spoor replied he wasn’t. The officer looked into the access hatch, found the crabs and measured them.
Not only was Spoor over the legal limit, but four out of the five crabs were also under the legal minimum size.
A caught ling cod was also undersized, and neither the ling cod nor a Chinook salmon were recorded on Spoor’s fishing license.
At this point, the officer seized the fish, crab, and fishing gear, but not his vessel.
Spoor spoke in court, saying there was no excuse for his actions.
“Not recording the fish on my license, the pen wasn’t working. I had planned to just record it when I got back to my truck.”
After pleading guilty to the charges of having undersized ling cod, Spoor said, “I did try to measure it but it was a live fish and it was flipping around.”
He also said he obstructed the officer “by accident”, claiming he misheard the question when he was asked if he had caught or retained any fish that day.
Spoor apologized for what happened, saying his errors were due to his excitement about taking his daughter out fishing.
Judge Tamara Hodge reminded Spoor the penalties could be much higher, with some of the charges carrying a maximum fine of $100,000 per day along with jail time.
“Commercial fisherman, Indigenous individuals, it’s part of our tourism, but if we don’t manage our fisheries and people don’t pay attention and follow the guidelines, our fisheries can collapse as they have in some other places,” she said, following Spoor’s guilty pleas to all four counts.
“We want to make sure we do all we can to protect our fisheries on our west coast and in our rivers, and that’s why the sentences are as high as they are.”
Spoor’s case is similar to one heard in Nanaimo court only a week prior, where a 74-year-old man pleaded guilty to four federal fisheries violations, also receiving a fine of $6,500 along with a two-year fishing ban.
Numerous notable Federal Fisheries Act violations have been resolved in court in Nanaimo this year, including several fishermen caught for illegally catching salmon.
Anyone with information on any illegal fishing activities to call Fisheries and Oceans Canada toll-free at 1-800-465-4336, or email them at: DFO.ORR-ONS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
Join the conversation. Submit your letter to NanaimoNewsNOW and be included on The Water Cooler, our letters to the editor feature.
jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com
On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow
