In the first conviction of its kind in the Maritimes, a Nova Scotia fisherman has been fined $5,000 and ordered to forfeit more than $17,000 worth of fish after illegally fishing in a protected area off Cape Breton.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) says the fisherman was convicted last month in Sydney provincial court under the Oceans Act for fishing in St. Anns Bank Marine Protected Area.
The infraction, which took place in January, involved 1,951 pounds of halibut and 123 pounds of cod caught within the protected area. St. Anns Bank, a 4,364-square-kilometre marine conservation zone established in 2017, includes a high-protection zone where all commercial fishing is prohibited.
Alongside the fine, the fisherman must also use a monitoring system that allows DFO to track his boat in near real-time for the next 10 years.
