Fisheries agents seize illegal Canadian lobster, fish imports

CALAIS – American fisheries agents have been stopping every truck carrying lobster into the U.S. through the border crossing this week as they look for illegal lobsters and other seafood.

As the lobster haul on Canada’s east coast reaches record highs, fisheries enforcement officers said 16 of the 35 trucks that were searched in the first three days of the enforcement action were found to have undersized and egg-bearing lobsters and undersized haddock.

The initiative started Sunday and is scheduled to run through Friday.

Todd Dubois, deputy special agent in charge of the Northeast enforcement division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said agents are investigating companies that may be intentionally disregarding fishery regulations.

It is illegal to import lobsters under a specified size or egg-bearing lobsters, which are supposed to be thrown back in the water to preserve stocks.

“We’re going to continue to check seafood trucks periodically until we see a level of compliance where we’d like to see it,” Dubois said.

Canadian officials said fishery violations in Canada increased by 60 percent last year.

Greg Thompson, president of the Fundy North Fishermen’s Association, acknowledged that some of his colleagues are breaking the rules.

He said he wants tougher enforcement from Canadian fisheries officers to send a clear message.

Fisheries inspectors held similar enforcement efforts in Calais last December and again in February to stem imports of illegal lobsters.

In December, nearly half of all Canadian shipments entering the U.S. at Calais contained illegal lobsters, resulting in more than $30,000 in penalties, officials said.

In February, of 37 shipments inspected at the border between St. Stephen, New Brunswick, and Calais, violations were found in 17, said Mark Oswell, spokesman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency.

The inspections, conducted between Feb. 9 and 13, found undersized and female egg-bearing lobsters.

U.S. officials said the number of violations dropped in February, but that a dozen of the shipments were from repeat offenders.