On April 15, federal fishery officers responded to a call from a concerned member of the public regarding excessive shellfish harvesting in Okeover Arm Provincial Park.
According to Matt Conley, fishery officer and field supervisor for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the complainant called the observe, record, report number and fishery officers were able to respond in a timely manner.
Conley said three individuals were inspected at their vehicle and were found to be grossly over the daily limit of clams and oysters. Local residents Pengfei Zhao, Hong Zhao and Haiyan Tan were issued fines totalling $6,000 and the seized shellfish was returned back to the beach, said Conley.
He added that fishery officers observed while conducting regular patrols on the Sunshine Coast that there was a lot of shellfish harvest activity on local beaches last week during low tides.
Conley said fishery officers remind the public to call the 1.800.465.4336 observe, record, report number to report fisheries violations.
