Major violations up for inland fisheries, says DFO

It was a busy summer for inland fisheries officers, according to the chief of the Fisheries and Oceans enforcement agency in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Lloyd Slaney said they had to monitor rivers around the province that were closed to fishing because of low water levels.

He said they also caught more people committing major violations such as jigging for salmon or putting nets across rivers.

"We've had a number of more significant violations like netting," said Slaney, who estimates about 34 offences were discovered by DFO this year.

"That's a high number, and it's a number I don't like to see. But we do tend to focus a lot of time on the more significant violations where we can."

Slaney said one person convicted of netting spent 30 days in jail.

Meanwhile, he said the overall number of inland fishing violations was down slightly.