Justin McElroy/CBC
A coastal view from Haida Gwaii.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada says the master of a commercial fishing vessel has been found guilty of fishing lingcod in a closed, culturally significant area off the coast of the Haida Gwaii islands.
The department says the area was inside a designated national park reserve, marine conservation area reserve and Haida heritage site.
Silas Miro Levesque pleaded guilty in February and has been ordered to pay $20,000 for violations of the Fisheries Act that occurred between late October 2018 and the following May.
The judge ordered Levesque to pay an additional $25,000 towards the conservation and protection of fish and fish habitat around Haida Gwaii.
READ MORE: BC Ferries’ third Island Class ferry making journey across Atlantic to B.C.
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