Busy BC Day Long Weekend for Conservation Officers
Thursday, August 11, 2016 @ 3:19 PM
Prince George, B.C. – The Conservation Officer Service (COS) issued tickets and warnings galore to recreation enthusiasts over the August long weekend.
Deputy chief Chris Doyle provided the highlights during a teleconference this afternoon:
- The Peace – Doyle says conservation officers (CO’s) conducted a multi-day outreach and enforcement operation associated to angling and boat use on the Peace River. Over the course of that weekend he says CO’s issued 20 charges under the Wildlife Act, Fisheries Act, Firearm Act and Motor Vehicle Act. Doyle says CO’s also issued 41 warnings. Doyle says 26 fish and one jet boat were also seized and one 24-hour drivers license suspension was also issued.
- Skeena – Doyle says CO’s made 260 contacts in the field and 525 vehicles were checked resulting in the seizure of three wild Steelhead and a number of other fish seizures. He adds a total of 36 charges and 19 warnings were issued.
- Okanagan – Doyle says four different boat patrols were conducted related to enforcement resulting in 26 charges and 50 warnings. Additionally, he says 12 vessels were ordered off the lake due to having insufficient safety gear.
- Kootenay/Boundary region – Doyle says a record 190 vessels were checked resulting in six charges and four warnings issued by CO’s to motorists who failed to stop to have their vessels inspected. He says four individuals from Alberta that weekend was also charged for possessing live wildlife (western painted turtles) in Cranbrook.
- South Coast – Doyle says CO’s patrolled recreation sites and trails in the region resulting in 31 charges, 43 warnings, and one 24-hour license suspension. He says CO’s also located and extinguished an abandoned campfire.
Comments
most of these guys are just young (M&F) egotistical power trippers. Only a few of the real CO’s left.
Do you have any idea of the challenges these folks face out in the bush, quite often working alone? Power tripping in someone’s mind, not theirs.
Yes, they in force the law..do their job.. I always find anyone who calls these people power trippers are usually the law breakers who get caught.. Then bitch and complain about how stupid the law is.
Totally agree old schooler, earlier this summer one of our more senior campers who has an annual campsite at the lake went out on his quad on the Monday after a long weekend to see if those who camped on crown land over the long weekend left any wood behind. He found 3 pieces of wood and strapped them to the front rack of his quad, that is when the Fish Cops sprung into action!! They stopped him as he came off the trail and said it was illegal to scavenge wood from the forest and were going to write him a ticket but decided to “cut him a break” if he just left the 3 pieces of wood in the bush. I wonder where they were when most campers emptied there septic tanks on to the ground, left behind garbage, smouldering campfires, broken lawn chairs etc, etc.. I guess hassling a 79 year old man is easy pickins..
A 36 dollar fishing license and a 6 dollar salmon stamp is not worth losing a jet boat over, crazy. You can even buy one online if the stores are closed. The Cluculz or Ness lake one is due
No infractions reported for our area. We must be good.
No, that is a warning we are next.
Not to be a jerk but
In force the law is too funny!
Thanks for the lol
was typing on cell phone.. not the most user friendly device for my fat fingers :)
Ya well why are they dressed up like some paramilitary outfit. What’s with that anyhow. Armed with a handgun, what a joke considering hunters are much more heavily armed. Protection from rabid salmon I suppose.
Most boaters are not armed except maybe with a fishing rod and some flares
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