Man found with 1,750 pounds of clams gets $5,000 fine for illegal harvesting

A photo shared as evidence in court shows bags of clams found in the bed of Blaney's pickup truck. (DFO)

A Vancouver Island man has been fined $5,000 over illegal shellfish harvesting that occurred in January 2023.

Albert Joseph Thomas Blaney was convicted of two Fisheries Act offences in Campbell River provincial court earlier this month, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said in a news release Thursday.

Blaney was found guilty of illegal possession and fishing without a licence, according to the DFO.

The charges stemmed from a “routine inspection” at the Heriot Bay ferry terminal on Quadra Island on Jan. 11, 2023, the DFO said.

Inspectors saw “sacks of clams” in a vehicle departing a ferry, according to the federal agency. When they searched the vehicle, they found “1,750 pounds of clams in 22 sacks, none of which bore tags indicating lawful harvest under a commercial shellfish licence or aquaculture lease.”

Moreover, there was no commercial shellfish harvest open at the time, the DFO said.

According to the department, the harvesting occurred on Klahoose First Nation territory, and “the nation was supportive of the investigation into Mr. Blaney’s activities.”

Blaney was ordered to pay a total of $5,000 in fines for his convictions. The judge’s reasons for the sentence have not been published online.

CTV News reached out to the DFO to ask for more information about how the fine amount was decided, and whether prosecutors sought a larger amount, but the agency declined to comment, saying the judge’s reasons “should be published in due course.”

The $5,000 fine works out to roughly $2.86 per pound of clams found in Blaney’s possession.

The DFO said unlicensed harvesting of shellfish can deplete the resource, causing significant economic and social harm to coastal communities.

“Unlicensed harvesting also means that it is unknown from where the clams were harvested,” the agency added.

“If the clams were harvested from a contaminated area and then consumed, it could make people sick or potentially die.”

The DFO asked anyone with information about illegal shellfish harvesting or any other contravention of the Fisheries Act and its associated regulations to contact the DFO Pacific Region’s toll-free reporting line at 1-800-465-4336 or to email the details to [e-mail].