In 1994 there was a blanket ban on herring fishing for the entire west coast. This ban was modified on rare occasions to allow fishing. During a 23 minute opening in an area near Comox the accused was charged with fishing outside the open area. The order opening the area for fishing described the boundaries of the area by reference …
Full Summary
These summaries of Fisheries law cases were prepared by retired lawyer Brad Caldwell.
Readers are cautioned this material is not up to date and are urged to consult CanLii for updated cases.
R v. Dowdle, 1997 CanLII 4618
The accused was apprehended lobster fishing at a wharf located within an area closed to fishing for lobster. The trial court acquitted the accused on the grounds that the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the location where the accused had been fishing. On appeal, the P.E.I. Supreme Court set aside the acquittal and convicted the accused on …
Full SummaryR v. Skinner, 1997 CanLII 14697
This case involved a vessel fishing for cod by Otter Trawl. The evidence was that the vessel had caught 60,000 lbs. of cod in a open area, but could only take 25,000 lbs. into its tanks at a time. While the first 25,000 lbs. was being processed, the cod end of the net was put back into the water to …
Full SummaryR v. Smith, 1996 CanLII 2803
The accused was the owner of a gill net vessel which participated in a commercial chum opening. His regular deckhand was not available and he was therefore required to hire another experienced deckhand. Before doing so, he obtained the recommendation of a previous employer of the deckhand. Evidence was led that it was common practice for gill net vessels to …
Full SummaryR v. Biggin, 2007 CanLII 13690
This case involved a commercial crab fisher whose marked crab traps were found well within a closed area. After a useful review of the law regarding due diligence, mistake of fact, the definition of "fishing" and the onus of proof, the court rejected a due diligence defence on the following basis: In this case, the crab pots were well within …
Full Summary