B.C. seafood company fined $40K for possessing undersized crabs

A seafood processing company in British Columbia was fined $40,000 for possessing undersized Dungeness crabs, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).

The federal organization says that Tenshi Seafood Limited, based out of Richmond, was initially fined for possessing the undersized crabs after a DFO inspector spotted the crustaceans during a routine inspection of a seafood processing plant in January 2023.

The company ultimately pleaded guilty to the possession of undersized crabs by a commercial business counter to the federal Fisheries Act on Dec. 6, 2023.

In a release Tuesday, the DFO said that it was important to protect undersized crabs, which play a crucial role for commercial harvesters in the province – and the recreational fishing industry, which relies on the crabs for tourism.

“The harvest of undersized crab is the largest threat to conservation of Dungeness crab stocks, which is a traditional food source for Indigenous communities and core to the livelihood of commercial crab harvesters,” said the DFO on Tuesday.

In B.C., male Dungeness crabs can only be harvested if they measure at least 165 millimetres wide along their carapace. Females cannot be harvested at all in the province.

The DFO adds that this is the second time Tenshi Seafood has been fined, with the company seeing a previous fine of $75,000 in January 2020 for obstruction.

SEE ALSO: 4 fishers fined combined $17K for fishing violations near Galiano Island: DFO

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