Fishing boat owners fined for illegal tuna catch off Vancouver Island

The owners of a commercial fishing boat have been fined $6,000 after the vessel was caught with more than 30,000 pounds of illegally caught tuna off Vancouver Island last summer.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada says the vessel Ocean Provider was boarded by officers approximately 42 nautical miles off Barkley Sound, near Bamfield.
The fisheries officers were conducting a routine inspection when they discovered 2,250 albacore tuna – totalling approximately 14,495 kilograms – on board.
The vessel was escorted back to port by fisheries officers on the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Tanu.
The tuna, which the agency valued at $127,824, had been harvested despite the crew not being licensed to fish for tuna, the DFO said in a statement Wednesday.
The catch was seized and the vessel's owners pleaded guilty in court to fishing for albacore tuna without a licence between July 22 and Aug. 15, 2022.
A Port Alberni provincial court judge fined the owners on June 28 and upheld the seizure and forfeiture of the tuna.
The DFO asks anyone with information about illegal fishing in B.C. to call the agency's Pacific region reporting line 1-800-465-4336, or email details to DFO.ORR-ONS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

'No one else has done this on the planet': Guilbeault insists emissions cap delay is due to novelty
Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault says the delay in announcing details of his government’s proposed oil and gas sector emissions cap is due to its uniqueness and to wanting to get it right.
Buckingham Palace releases this year’s Christmas card
Buckingham Palace released an image of the Christmas card that King Charles III and Queen Camilla will be sending out this year.
Canada has a secretive history of adoption, and some want it brought to light
In a theatre in St. John's, N.L., a murmur spreads through the audience as people timidly raise their hands. They have been asked if they saw their own stories reflected in the film they just watched -- 'A Quiet Girl.'
'People are confused': Survey suggests Canadians need education on Charter rights
While one-third of Canadians say they have read the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, many fail to distinguish between its text and that of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, a new survey suggests.
A gigantic new ICBM will take U.S. nuclear missiles out of the Cold War-era but add 21st-century risks
The $96 billion Sentinel overhaul involves 450 silos across five states, their control centres, three nuclear missile bases and several other testing facilities. The project is so ambitious it has raised questions as to whether the Air Force can get it all done at once.
Marathon Conservative carbon tax filibuster ends after nearly 30 consecutive hours of House votes
The Conservative-prompted filibuster in the House of Commons ended Friday night, after MPs spent nearly 30 hours voting non-stop on the government's spending plans.
Tennessee residents clean up after severe weekend storms killed 6 people and damaged neighbourhoods
Central Tennessee residents and emergency workers cleaned up Sunday from severe weekend storms and tornadoes that killed six people and sent more to the hospital while damaging buildings, turning over vehicles and knocking out power to tens of thousands.
Elon Musk restores X account of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones
Elon Musk has restored the X account of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, pointing to a poll on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter that came out in favour of the Infowars host who repeatedly called the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting a hoax.
Woman charged with manslaughter after 2 sets of young twins killed in 2021 U.K. fire
A woman has been charged with four counts of manslaughter after two sets of young twins were killed in a fire that ripped through a London home in 2021.