Commercial fishermen hit with $485,000 fines

[GLF]

Inland Sea Products, two captains falsified reports and violated licence conditions

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources reports three commercial fishermen and their Southampton-based company received penalties and fines totaling $485,000 after they pleaded guilty to deliberately overfishing Lake Huron in 2003 and 2004.

The cost to the defendants is believed to be the highest in Ontario for such an offence, according to a spokesperson for the Upper Great Lakes Management Unit.

A news release from the Ministry of Natural Resources said William R. Jackson, 64, of Southampton, owner of Inland Sea Products, pleaded guilty in provincial offences court last week to 10 counts of making false statements and violating the conditions of his commercial fishing licence.

Gregory Jackson, 44, of Southampton, and Richard Leeder, 43, of Port Elgin, both pleaded guilty to two counts of making false statements and contravening conditions of their licences. They were captains of two of the three gillnetting tugs operated by Inland Sea Products, which also runs a retail/wholesale store in Southampton.

"All commercial fishing licences have allocated quotas set for different species and for different areas of the lake," said the news release. "Commercial fishermen must submit accurate daily catch reports. This information is used to determine total catches in comparison to allocated quotas and to calculate royalties due to the Crown. "Fisheries management decisions are also based on the information submitted by the licensed commercial fishermen."

The news release said the MNR began an investigation in 2004 after officers with the Upper Great Lakes Management

Unit noticed discrepancies between the fishing locations reported by the company.

The officers obtained a warrant to place a tracking device on one of the tugs. The device confirmed that whitefish were being caught in one zone of Lake Huron and reported as having been caught in another zone.

"Search warrants were executed on one of the tugs and at the offices of Inland Sea Products where business documents were seized," the release said. "This evidence revealed that more than 15,454 kilograms (34,000 pounds) of whitefish had been taken over the quota in 2003 and more than 88,181 kg (194,000 lb) in 2004."

"It was a lot of work," lake manager David McLeish said Wednesday in an interview. "There was quite a team involved and they used everything from new technology to forensic accounting to carry this one off."

Al Ryan prosecuted the case for the MNR. A plea bargain saw the company ordered to pay $300,000 in restitution. William Jackson and Inland Sea Products were also fined $175,000 while Gregory Jackson and Leeder were each fined $5,000.

"(Ryan) has been a prosecutor for the ministry for many years and he said it's the largest he's seen," McLeish said of the total penalty. "I don't have statistics in front of me to confirm it, but Al would know and he said it was a record."

In addition, William Jackson was barred for two years from any involvement in commercial fishing operations. Inland Sea Products must also install and maintain GPS tracking devices on all its fishing vessels and use hundred-pound tubs to land fish to ensure compliance.