Fisheries and Oceans Canada is asking crabbers to bone up on their regulations after the Vancouver Police Department’s marine unit hauled up an illegal crab trap off Ambleside with a spiny dogfish caught inside.
The dogfish, which is more commonly known as a mudshark, survived and police released it but DFO says the water off Ambleside is a hotspot for poaching and illegal crab traps.
“That area is highly populated, so we’re often in the area looking at that kind of stuff,” said Eric Jean, fishery officer. “(The week of Aug. 9-14) in that area, we had six crabbers – 19 crabs between them. Fifteen of those crabs were female, which are illegal to catch and retain. All 19 of the crabs were undersized and there was $3,400 in fines given out for fishing in a closed time and a slew of warnings.”
The area between Siwash Rock and Point Atkinson is closed to recreational crab fishing from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise and the trap was also unmarked, making it illegal, Jean said.
“That does happen quite often. Whether people are aware to properly mark their gear or not, it is against the regulations. You must mark your gear in block letters in a contrasting colour with your last name.”
Traps also tend to turn up areas between Lighthouse Park and Bowen Island, which have recently closed for fishing to protect endangered glass sponge reefs on the sea floor.
“We really want to make sure know to protect and avoid these areas. We do find a lot of recreational gear in these areas just due to the fact people aren’t up to date on the regulations and the closures,” Jean said. “We’re just trying to make sure it’s here for tomorrow and everybody can enjoy it safely.”
DFO’s full sport fishing guide and details on fishing closures is available at http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/species-especes/crab-crabe-eng.html.
