PRINCE.EDWARD.ISLAND (CBC) - The owner of the Howard's Cove fish plant in western P.E.I. has been charged with illegally processing lobster.

The province said it had inspectors in the plant on several occasions over the last six weeks and observed lobsters being processed, and the plant does not have a licence for that.

Howard's Cove is a former Polar Foods plant that once did process lobster. Polar went bankrupt in 2004 and was purchased by the province.

Polar was sold to the N.L. company Ocean Choice, and part of the agreement was if any new lobster processing licences were issued, the province would have to forgive a $14-million loan.

Ocean Choice kept two of the Polar plants operating, but not Howard's Cove, which was eventually taken over by Roger Wall.

Wall will enter a plea to the charges on July 16. Several lobster fishermen have indicated support for Wall, claiming there isn't enough competition for lobster, and that's one the reasons prices were so low this spring.

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