Nova ScotiaA charge under the Fisheries Act against a Halifax-area transport company related to a seizure of roughly $250,000 worth of juvenile eels last year has been withdrawn by the prosecution.Igloo Transport official says company is ‘innocent,’ believed truck contained live lobsterIgloo Transport Ltd., located in the Burnside industrial park of Dartmouth, N.S., is shown on Jan. 28, 2025. (Richard Cuthbertson/CBC)A charge under the Fisheries Act against a Halifax-area transport company related to a seizure of roughly $250,000 worth of juvenile eels last year has been withdrawn by the prosecution.An official with Igloo Transport Ltd. said in the interview the company hopes the development in the case will help it clear its name, noting the charge and related publicity have hurt the firm’s reputation and financial situation.The fishery for young eels, also known as elvers, along Maritime rivers has been fraught for years, with allegations of widespread illegal fishing prompted by skyrocketing prices due to demand in Asia, where the eels are shipped and then raised for food.The company was charged with possessing, selling or purchasing young eels, known as elvers, that had been caught in contravention of the Fisheries Act or its regulations, following a seizure of 60 kilograms of elvers in May 2024 at the firm’s Dartmouth, N.S., warehouse.The charge was withdrawn on Sept. 29 in Dartmouth provincial court, according to court records.Igloo Transport spokesperson Wendy Liu said the company is “innocent” in the case, and had no idea that a shipment brought in by truck by a customer contained elvers, as the company had been told it contained live lobster.She said employees hadn’t been involved in any of the loading or repacking before federal fisheries officers swooped in, and her company was not in the business of transporting elvers.The Department of Fisheries and Oceans posted this photograph on social media from an elver seizure on May 31, 2024, at a facility in Dartmouth, N.S. (DFO Maritimes/X)Charges laid in the case against two men accused of transporting the elvers to the facility still stand. Both have pleaded not guilty and trial dates have been set for January.One of the men charged is Matthew Cope, a fisherman and businessman from Millbrook First Nation in central Nova Scotia who has asserted he and other Mi’kmaq have a treaty right to fish outside of federal regulations and sell their catch.Liu said Igloo Transport is in the business of shipping seafood — its main destination is Ontario — similar to the way Canada Post or FedEx ships mail.She said carriers do not have the right to open packages at will, and Igloo Transport is not allowed to violate customer privacy. It is the responsibility of the customer, she said, to identify the contents of their shipment.The charge has led to significant repercussions for Igloo Transport, Liu said. Some employees were concerned and left the company, it’s been tough to hire new people, and financial institutions were reluctant to give credit support, hurting cash flow, she said.“Some of the seafood factories mistakenly think we were involved in illegal activities and reduced or suspended co-operation with us,” Liu said, noting several transportation contracts were terminated.MORE TOP STORIESABOUT THE AUTHORRichard Cuthbertson is a journalist with CBC Nova Scotia. He can be reached at richard.cuthbertson@cbc.ca.
Fisheries Act charge withdrawn against Dartmouth company in juvenile eel case
