A

4 —- Wednesday, December 27, 1995 - North Shore News

Court
fines 5
for crab
fishing

A FOUR-MONTH surveil-
lance operation conducted by

the federal Department of

Fisheries and Oceans (DFO)
has led to five convictions for
illegal crab fishing.

By Richard Ostler
Contributing Writer

Nai Luo Fang, Yao Gen Zhang
and Yong Quang Zhang pleaded
guilty in North Vancouver provin-
cial court Dec. 6 to catching
undersized red rock crabs and
exceeding the daily limit for crabs.
The three were fined a total of
$3,750.

Also convicted in Burnaby
provincial court Dec. 7 were Sang
Huu Mai and Thoi Thi Nguyen.

Mai was fined $4,200 and
Nguyen received a $1,000 fine.

Herb Redekopp, field supervi-
sor for DFO, said such violations
are common.

Public complaints about suspi-
cious late nigitt fshing cast of
Second Narrows Bridge led DFO
to investigate.

“They spend some time at this,”
he said. “I imagine they make a
good living with the proceeds of
their crime.”

Fang, Yao Gen Zhang and Yong
Quang Zhang were arrested on
Dollarton Highway by DFO offi-
cers after being seen loading up
their vehicle with bays of crabs at
Cates Park.

Investigating officers found
nearly 100 undersized Dungeness
crabs.

A large number of people
charged with illegal crabbing are
from ethnic groups Redekopp said.

DFO officers have been keep-
ing close tabs on fishing activity in
the past few months using night
vision equipment.

Violators tend to work at night
in groups of three or four. They
dump their crab catch on the shore
where it will nol easily be seen and
wait until it is safe to retrieve the
bag by vehicle.

“A lot of female crabs have no
ability to reproduce.” Redekopp
said. “You cannot go on with this
amount of abuse.”

Ports Canada Police Const.
Alain Maiihot said the violations
are common. Police stop about
200 crab poachers every year.

On Selected ff e
Ve Vio = =|

NEWS photo Brad Ledwidge

a j . t
A MAN tosses a crab trap into the water earlier this year at Pier [EuPORo”™ im WW 241 Park Rosal South y 26- lot
94 in North Vancouver. Crab catching is illegal at the location. : : ;

| Dick Irwin, What a great, great yyy!
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FOR 90 DAYS!

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, ‘CHEVROLET, OLDSMORILE,

OR CHEVY. TRUCK. _.

!
|
“THIS MONTH 22885)
January 1996

teney Mote Feondny Wherry ie Noreetey_

“no PAYMENTS *

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ETHE EMR “ON YOUR N |
AND ONLY AT cxtvniuzr o.tsuipu!
DICK IRWIN'S . "OR CHEVY TRUCK "
Cr RISTMA INS oes _Jmis MONTE on
CATCHUP sain

eae Ao PAYMENTS 7 |
“on YOUR. NEW i
CHEVROLET, " OLDEMUBILE on.

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WITH EVERY NEW VEHICLE PURCHASED OR LEASED

UT ONLY UNTILE DEC. . 309

“HOURS: "9-6 FRI. -SAT. DEC: 2223" &. DEC? ‘29/30:

3. '9.9 WED. & THURS. DEC. 27: 2 28..
“1035. BOXING DAY DEC. 26: