Campbell River, British Columbia - Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)'s fishery officers support the Department's ongoing efforts to protect and sustain Canada's precious marine resources. Fishery officers conduct regular patrols of Canada's coastal inland waters, and investigate and lay charges against those alleged to have violated the Fisheries Act and its regulations.
On November 12, 2025, in Campbell River Provincial Court, Albert Joseph Thomas Blaney was convicted of two offences under Canada's Fisheries Act and found guilty of illegal possession and fishing without a licence. He was ordered to pay a total fine of $5,000.
The convictions stem from an incident on January 11, 2023, during a routine inspection at the Heriot Bay B.C. Ferries terminal on Quadra Island near Campbell River, B.C. Officers observed sacks of clams in a vehicle as it departed the ferry and subsequently found approximately 1,750 pounds of clams in 22 sacks, none of which bore tags indicating lawful harvest under a commercial shellfish licence or aquaculture lease. At the time, there was no commercial harvest open.
