ENFORCEMENT 207 



policy features. The appropriate intensity of policing in 

 the field is best left to the Department to decide in light 

 of the incidence of crime perceived in various parts of the 

 region. 



Levels of Activity 



Table 16-1 depicts the charges laid over the past seven 

 years and their results. The numbers of charges rose 

 sharply in 1978 and 1979 and has declined slightly since 

 then. These figures are not firm evidence of trends in 

 illegal activity, however, because they may be explained 

 by variations in the intensity of the enforcement effort 

 from year to year. Indeed, the inception of a special 

 R.C.M.P. training course for fishery officers in 1977 

 (described below) alone might explain the subsequent 

 surge in charges laid. 



Table 16-1 Prosecutions and convictions 



Source: Department of Fishenes and Oceans. 



Table 16-2 lists the number of charges laid in 1981 by 

 category of offence. Over 60 percent were laid under 

 three categories: sportfishing, shellfish fisheries and gen- 

 eral. Tidal sportfishing violations include exceeding bag 

 and possession limits, and violating size limits. Offences 

 under the shellfish regulations include size and bag limits 



Table 16-2 Charges laid under the Fisheries Act and 

 regulations in the Pacific Region in 1981 



number 



offence 



Fisheries Act 



habitat 

 other^ 



Regulations 



general 



shellfish 



tidal sportfishing 



commercial salmon 



nontidal sportfishmg 



commercial licensmg 



commercial hemng 



Indian fisheries 



other 



total 



percent 



1014 



100 



of oysters, crabs and other invertebrates. The general reg- 

 ulations prohibit such things as fishing in closed areas, 

 during closed seasons for certain sp^ecies, and illegal 

 fishing in rivers and at sea. They also prohibit Indians 

 from fishing without permits or in contravention of their 

 time, area or gear conditions. The Indian fishery- regula- 

 tions are confined to the illegal sale offish by Indians and 

 purchase by non-Indians. 



Public Involvement in Enforcement 



While primary responsibility for fisheries enforcement 

 is shouldered by the Department, field staff receive sup- 

 port from the public under the Observe, Record and 

 Report Program and through bounty arrangements. 



Obsene, Record mid Report Program In June of 1979 

 an Observe, Record and Report Program, sponsored 

 jointly by the B.C. Wildlife Federation, the Department 

 of Fishenes and Oceans and the provincial Fish and 

 Wildlife Branch, was developed to encourage the public 

 at large to report violations by telephoning a toll-free 

 number. In 1980, this number was maimed 24 hours a 

 day. seven days a week. 



The B.C. Wildlife Federation provided the initial 

 impetus to set up the program and to keep it functioning. 

 The province provided a public education element, con- 

 sisting of a slide-tape show to inform the public of the 

 program and to explain how to report infractions. Since 

 the first year of operation it has fallen to the Department 

 of Fisheries and Oceans alone to provide the funding 

 required to maintain the program, including the manning 

 of the toll-free number to which infractions are reported. 



When the service was initiated, the complaints received 

 were approximately evenly divided between the Depart- 

 ment of Fisheries and Oceans and the provincial Fish 

 and Wildlife Service. During 1980, when the toll-free 

 number was maintained around the clock. 61 percent of 

 the calls received were referred to the Department of 

 Fisheries and Oceans, 36 percent to the Fish and Wildlife 

 Branch, and 3 percent to other organizations. 



Table 16-3 Observe, Record and Report Program 



' Primarily, possession of fish m closed areas (Fisheries Act, sec- 

 tion 19). 



Source: Department of Fisheries and Oceans. 



Source: Department of Fisheries and Oceans. 



