B.C. shellfish harvesters fined for overfishing hundreds of oysters and clams

A photo of overfished shellfish presented as evidence in court is seen. (Fisheries and Oceans Canada)

Two recreational shellfish harvesters have been handed fines and fishing bans after being found guilty of fishing well over the daily quota of oysters and clams on Vancouver Island, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

The federal agency says the penalties stem from an investigation by fishery officers in the Baynes Sound Recreational Shellfish Harvest Reserve, an area between Buckley Bay and Union Bay where commercial harvesting is excluded or limited—but is nonetheless “often the site of illegal harvesting and over retention.”

On May 25, 2024, Diosa Delacruz and Rosemarie Allam were found to have collectively harvested and retained 262 Manila clams and 151 oysters, the DFO says. The allowed daily possession limit for the bivalves are 60 and 12, respectively.

In addition, 222 of the clams were under the legal size limit, a regulation that exists so clams can spawn at least once before they are harvested to repopulate the beach.

On Feb. 14 of this year, Delacruz, of Richmond, was found guilty in court in Courtenay of keeping more than the daily quota, and for fishing with out a B.C. Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Licence, according to the DFO. She was fined $5,000 and was banned from fishing for one year.

Allam, a Nanaimo resident, was found guilty in August 2024 of daily quota violations and for failing to comply with the conditions of her licence—netting a $4,500 fine and a two-year fishing ban.

“It is everyone’s responsibility to know the rules before they engage in any fishing activities, and to play their part in ensuring that B.C.’s shellfish populations and their habitats are protected and sustained,” the DFO wrote in a news release Tuesday.

“Unlicensed harvesting can deplete the resource, remove the opportunity for other licensed harvesters and threaten the significant economic and social benefit to coastal communities, including recreational fisheries, tourism, the livelihood of commercial harvesters and traditional food sources for Indigenous people.”

The DFO asked the public to report illegal fishing activity by calling 1-800-465-4336 or emailing [e-mail].