Three Fil-Canadians get stiff fines for catching more than 80 undersized crabs

Three Filipinos from Surrey, BC men were fined and banned from crab fishing for two years after being caught with over 80 undersized Dungeness crabs off North Vancouver in March 2023. | DFO

Three Filipino Canadians must pay stiff fines after they were caught with more than 80 undersized Dungeness, some of them females, trapped off the waters of North Vancouver.

Arnulfo Delfin, 58, Wilson Palapox, 56, and Jerry Palafox, 51, pleaded guilty to fisheries offenses and must pay fines ranging from $3,300 to $6,500. They were also banned from fishing for two years.

Fisheries officers on March 1, 2023 watched through binoculars the three men on a boat pulling up crab traps. A search revealed a black garbage bag full of 81 Dungeness crabs, all undersized, 27 of them females, possession of which is an offense. The daily limit per person is four crabs, to ensure resource conservation.

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Speaking to the judge, Delfin said, “We know what we did was wrong,” North Shore News reported.

Judge Timothy Hinkson handed Delfin a fine of $6,500, while the two other men both received fines of $3,300.