A pair of recreational fishers has been fined a combined $8,750 for illegal fishing activity on northern Vancouver Island. Xiao Dong Liu and Yongjie Li were each convicted in Port Hardy provincial court back in July over offences that occurred in March 2025, according to a release issued by Fisheries and Oceans Canada Tuesday. Liu was convicted of exceeding the daily fish quota and fishing during a closed period. He was fined a total of $4,500 for those offences. Online court records indicate a $3,000 fine was imposed for the quota violation, with the remaining $1,500 for the other offence. Li was convicted of the same offences, plus failing to produce a licence. Li’s fines were $3,000 for the quota offence, $1,000 for fishing during a closed period and $250 for the licence violation, for a total of $4,250. Liu was born in 1967, while Li was born in 1990, according to court records. The DFO says it became aware of the pair when it received a complaint from a member of the public to its “observe, record and report” phone line on March 12, 2025. The caller reported suspected illegal fishing happening near the shoreline at a marina in Hardy Bay, according to the DFO. At the time, the retention of rockfish and lingcod in the area was prohibited. The area was closed to fishing for those species until May 1, 2025, the DFO said. “Fishery officers seized the catch, which included nine quillback rockfish, two yellowtail rockfish, one canary rockfish, one greenstriped rockfish, two greenling, one lingcod and five rock sole,” the DFO release reads. “The court also ordered the forfeiture of the illegally retained fish.” There are more than 35 species of rockfish along the B.C. coast, and some of them live for more than 100 years, according to the DFO. “Rockfish grow and reproduce slowly and many B.C. rockfish species are in decline and of conservation concern,” the agency’s release reads. “Fisheries closures for these and other species are a critical conservation tool that help protect vulnerable fish populations and support sustainable fisheries for future generations.” The DFO advised anyone who has information about suspected Fisheries Act violations to call its toll-free reporting line at 1-800-465-4336, or email DFO.ORR-ONS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
