Fisheries and Oceans Canada: Unauthorized dredging work at Sechelt

The Honourable Judge Steven Merrick of the Sechelt Provincial Court fined George Winkler $70,000 for offences under Canada’s Fisheries Act last month.

Mr. Winkler pleaded guilty in October 2023 to violating the fish and fish habitat protection provisions of the Act by undertaking work that resulted in the death of fish and the destruction of fish habitat, said Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

The case stems from November 22, 2021, when Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) received information about an excavator operating within Stephens Creek on a property at Lower Road in Roberts Creek, Sechelt.

The excavator was dredging out the stream bed of Stephens Creek and using the materials to build up the banks on either side of the creek.

On November 26, 2021, DFO fishery officers and biologists inspected the site and collected salmon eggs lying on and buried within the dredged material.

Subsequent analysis confirmed that the dead eggs were pink or chum salmon.

The unauthorized dredging work also resulted in the harmful alteration, disruption and destruction of aquatic habitat, said Fisheries and Oceans Canada.