NANAIMO — Two men convicted of Federal Fisheries Act violations have received their punishments following a botched commercial prawn fishing trip.
Terry Ronald Lorenz, 64, received a $3000 fine and a five-year fishing ban for his role in operating a vessel on behalf of its owner and co-accused Tomby Scott Castle in the spring of 2022.
Federal Crown prosecutor Josh Cramer told a recent sentencing hearing in Nanaimo that Lorenz was fishing in a closed area twice the same week, south of Ladysmith and the Nanaimo area.
About 460 pounds of prawns were pulled up from traps placed in areas closed due to depleted stocks as determined by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
“It is particularly aggravating that Mr. Lorenz fished in a closed area near Ladysmith, discovered his error and then proceeded to fish again in a closed area, this time near Nanaimo,” Cramer told a provincial court sentencing hearing in Nanaimo.
On May 31, 2022, Lorenz learned he was illegally prawning in the Chemainus/Crofton area.
Lorenz stated he and Castle were not paying close enough attention to the Ladysmith area closure notices.
“Mr. Castle directed him to move the vessel from the Ladysmith area to the Nanaimo area,” Cramer told the court.
On the evening of June 6, 2022, prawn fishing was closed in Fisheries Management Area 17-12, a strip of ocean spanning between Gabriola Island and Nanoose Bay.
However, Lorenz fished illegally in the area for prawns until June 9.
Fisheries officers boarded the offending vessel, where Lorenz admitted he was not in compliance with the closure.
Castle, who was on-shore at the time, stated his belief over the phone with a fisheries officer that he believed the area was open for prawn fishing, and then conceded it was not.
The Crown’s Cramer said illegal prawn fishing depletes local areas short on females required for a healthy fishery, while also creating an unfair advantage for rule-breakers.
“The reduced reproductive potential also has economic consequences, impacting the prosperity of the commercial fishery, it also impacts opportunities for recreational fishers and members of First Nations who rely on the prawn fishery for food, social and ceremonial purposes.”
Lorenz, a Nanoose Bay resident, has been a commercial fisherman for most of his life.
He’s been running his own boats in several types of commercial fisheries in coastal B.C. since he was 20 years old.
Now at the age of 64 and suffering from obstructive pulmonary disease, Lorenz has limited mobility and relies on breathing machines.
Cramer stated Lorenz’s offending could have resulted in a fine in the $25,000 to $30,000 range, however, Lorenz benefitted from an “exceedingly lenient” sentence based on his personal circumstances.
Lorenz is on disability and draws a modest amount from the Canadian Pension Plan.
“His health circumstances are serious, his financial circumstances are constrained and it’s on that basis that the Crown is agreeable to a sentence that is frankly quite a bit outside the typical range…”
Struggling at times to catch his breath while in court, Lorenz apologized for his offending.
Being unable to fish for five years is seen as an offsetting factor in light of the reduced fine for Lorenz, who has a grade 10 education.
“I decided I was making more money as a fisherman that I didn’t need to go to school – for a long time I was right, not so right anymore,” Lorenz told the court.
Lorenz has prior Federal Fisheries Act violations on his record, the sentencing hearing was told.
Judge Tamara Hodge accepted a jointly accepted sentencing recommendation agreed upon by the Crown’s Cramer and self-represented Lorenz.
Judge Hodge said society takes these offences seriously, stating proper management of our fishery resources is important for future generations.
“…if people are flouting or not paying attention to the regulations, we’ve really got to bring it home to them why that’s important,” judge Hodge said.
Castle, the offending boat’s owner, received a much more severe monetary penalty, while he escaped a fishing prohibition.
Castle was fined $30,000, as well as $8,228 worth of prawns he sold to a Richmond seafood company following an April 25 sentencing hearing in Nanaimo.
He recently pleaded guilty to three counts of failing to comply with licensing conditions, as well as a charge of benefiting financially from the illegally caught prawns.
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