Over 8,000 lobster were seized by DFO at a Delaps Cove fish plant. Photo by Contributed Photo /DFOArticle contentAfter a decade of being accused of under-enforcement, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has racked up a string of lobster and vessel seizures over the past two months in southwest Nova Scotia.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentAmong those busted for allegedly holding lobsters caught without a valid DFO-issued licence is a fish plant associated with one of the larger buyers in the area.Article contentArticle content“Fisheries officers have done more in the last five weeks than they’ve been allowed to do in the last five years,” said Dan Fleck, a retired DFO officer and project manager with the Brazil Rock Lobster Association.Article contentArticle content“That’s not on the officers, that’s on those that direct them – the senior managers and politicians.”Article contentAccording to DFO, since June 1 it has seized six fishing boats, 1,478 traps and nearly 28,000 lobsters (which were returned to the water) in southwest Nova Scotia.Article contentDelaps Cove seizureArticle contentA large share of the catch, 115 crates containing 8,028 lobsters, was seized Oct. 16 at a commercial fish plant in Delaps Cove. One man was arrested for violations under the Fisheries Act.Article contentWhile DFO refused to specify which plant was busted, there is only one commercial plant in the identified community, Delaps Cove Fish Products Ltd. According to the Registry of Joint Stock Companies, the directors of Delaps Cove are Allan Longmire, Patricia Longmire, Reginald Leblanc and Marcel Leblanc.Article contentBoth Reginald and Marcel Leblanc are directors of Wedgeport Lobster, a prominent southern Nova Scotia lobster buyer.Article contentArticle contentNeither Reginal Leblanc nor Allan Longmire returned requests for comment.Article contentArticle contentAccording to DFO, the lobsters were caught under a First Nations food, social and ceremonial licence and are not allowed to be sold or bought.Article contentSaulnierville WharfArticle contentA fleet of Mi’kmaq boats have been fishing from the federal government-owned Saulnierville wharf in St. Mary’s Bay through the late summer and early fall. The area’s commercial fishing season doesn’t open until Nov. 24.Article contentMany are fishing food, social and ceremonial licences for their bands, though in recent years some have told The Chronicle Herald that they are pursuing rights-based moderate livelihood fisheries outside the federal regulation regime.Article content“Some of those lobster are being blended in with ones caught under commercial licences in Area 35,” said a lobster buyer in southwest Nova Scotia who doesn’t want his name published.
DFO makes sizable lobster busts in southwest Nova Scotia, netting plants and buyers
