Powers of Fishery Officers

[Capilano]

Allowing a DFO or CO to search can have it's benefits.

There is a certain CO in the interior who checked me quite a few times over the course of a couple of summers. Checked for barbless hooks (river fishing) etc and also asked to look in the cooler on different occasions and I allowed him.

After a few more checks over the summers, this CO now never checks my cooler or gear as he knows that I am ethical and follow regs and I also treat him with respect. Last year, he had a fellow CO with him and it was pretty cool to hear him say to that CO "No need to check Capilano, he is good..."

 

[Towney]

They say on any given day the average person commits at least 1 federal crime. Knowingly or not.

 

[eriks]

Exactly.

It's not a big deal, and I don't have anything to hide WRT fishing, but to be honest, most times I'll probably have a few beers on board, and I wouldn't want them having that over me. That's where I'm really coming from.
Like Towney said, you just don't know who is coming aboard, so I think it's prudent to object but still let them look at whatever they want to.

 

[Towney]

Sad to say, but in a lot of cases with authority these days, it's not a bad idea to film interactions. Or at least give them the impression you are.

 

[fishin solo]

Been checked once last year by dfo. They were more then friendly and I agree it's a test when they first come up to a boat. They can tell instantly if your a avid angler or just once in awhile fisher. There were 3 of us on my boat. They asked how fishing was etc what fish we had on board and asked which rods that were down belonged to which person. I said there all mine they asked me which one they could pull up to check for barbs I said pick anyone doesn't matter to me so pulled a rod up they inspected as they were checking for barbs I told my bud to grab the fishing licenses and they said not to worry and said have a good day. They aren't stupid there trained to spot the little things and inconsistencies. However I find rcmp checks to be a bit of a joke. They don't even know the required safety gear for size of vessel lol

 

[aheny]

Sad to say, but in a lot of cases with authority these days, it's not a bad idea to film interactions. Or at least give them the impression you are.

The one downside to this is they can't have film footage showing they let something slide, or weren't thorough.
If it were me, and the camera came out, I'd do it by the book and check absolutely everything.

 

[Aces]

If you have nothing to hide why the big deal?

Exactly! Only criminals are wary of the police or others in a position of power.. I always encourage the DFO to check myself and others as there are many dishonest people out there. A so called guide in Tofino just got busted recently for keeping over their limit of Chinooks....hope they roast his butt!

 

[wishiniwasfishin1]

Allowing a DFO or CO to search can have it's benefits.

There is a certain CO in the interior who checked me quite a few times over the course of a couple of summers. Checked for barbless hooks (river fishing) etc and also asked to look in the cooler on different occasions and I allowed him.

After a few more checks over the summers, this CO now never checks my cooler or gear as he knows that I am ethical and follow regs and I also treat him with respect. Last year, he had a fellow CO with him and it was pretty cool to hear him say to that CO "No need to check Capilano, he is good..."

You told him your sporstfishingbc handle? Face palm.

 

[eriks]

Exactly! Only criminals are wary of the police or others in a position of power.. I always encourage the DFO to check myself and others as there are many dishonest people out there. A so called guide in Tofino just got busted recently for keeping over their limit of Chinooks....hope they roast his butt!

I totally agree with you re: criminals, however my boat doesn't have permanent sleeping quarters or cooking facilities, and since I'm out there fishing, I'm not tied up to a dock, and therefore I'm a criminal if I have just one beer on board.

 

[Capilano]

You told him your sporstfishingbc handle? Face palm.

I really don't care - otherwise I would not have posted in the first place.

 

[wishiniwasfishin1]

I really don't care - otherwise I would not have posted in the first place.

I was mostly joking. You really did? Not that there's anything wrong with that I guess but with any enforcement officers I find its best to answer the questions but don't volunteer too much. Just a policy.

 

[Cabezon1]

Exactly! Only criminals are wary of the police or others in a position of power.. I always encourage the DFO to check myself and others as there are many dishonest people out there. A so called guide in Tofino just got busted recently for keeping over their limit of Chinooks....hope they roast his butt!

For all those asking what is the big deal. I am not making a big deal of it. I simply asked a question on the forum here as to what a DFO officer can and cannot do. Are they truly the all powerful on the water? I participate in this forum both to share my experiences and hopefully learn from other more knowledgeable anglers on fishing as well on all kinds of topics related . Isn't that the whole purpose of a discussion forum ? Wouldn't you also want to know what authorities, be it DFO or other law enforcement officers can and cannot do?Next time you are at a bank and if a cop comes up to you and ask how much money is in your bank account would you tell him it's none of his business or simply roll over . If you don't tell him how much is in your account does that mean you have something to hide?

 

[Cabezon1]

Just to clarify, was it actually a DFO vessel or RCMP ?
Their duties on the water can cross over at times

DFO. I know RCMP/Coast Guards can check backpacks and I really have no problems with them checking if they are authorized to do so.

 

[Mike_R]

I have been told that whilst on the water, they (CO's) have immense powers, as they should.
Once you're on land though, my understanding is that they need your permission to search, and they are good at tricking you into giving it to them.
I think Agentaqua is correct, and personally I just wouldn't give permission to search anything, but I wouldn't stop them.
I know how to fish, and don't need barbed hooks.

There is nothing illegal about having barbed hooks in your boat. You just can't fish for salmon with them.

 

[finaddict]

Allowing a DFO or CO to search can have it's benefits.

There is a certain CO in the interior who checked me quite a few times over the course of a couple of summers. Checked for barbless hooks (river fishing) etc and also asked to look in the cooler on different occasions and I allowed him.

After a few more checks over the summers, this CO now never checks my cooler or gear as he knows that I am ethical and follow regs and I also treat him with respect. Last year, he had a fellow CO with him and it was pretty cool to hear him say to that CO "No need to check Capilano, he is good..."

Last time I was checked was several years ago in Vancouver harbour. We were trolling with both DR's down. RCMP boat came roaring up from the stern and then slowed down nicely to come along side us at about 10 feet away. Fisheries officer asked us how our day was and we were very friendly in reply. Wanted to know if we had any luck (which we didn't). Asked us to see our fishing licenses, so I asked if he would like me to bring up downriggers and bring in gear. He replied that it was not necessary just hold up the licenses for him to see, to which we complied. He was satisfied and wished us good luck and was on to the next guy. Moral of the story; FO's are usually quick judges of character and reasonable grounds. Also if you treat them with respect, they will more often than not reply in kind.

 

[capt hook]

I have had dfo come alongside and i treat them with total respect.
answer all questions and they usually wish us a good day and are gone , only checked once for barbless and all was good.
they want to see lics. mostly. and if u ask nicely what boats have fish , you may get a tip as they point some boats out.

 

[Cuba Libre]

Oh lordie--- the Officer ASKED, and was given the go ahead. He sure as hell DOES deserve respect as he was just doing his job as written in the Fisheries Act. Cut the hate-- I have know MANY DFO Officers in my time on the coast. 99.9% deserve a thanks for doing a job that many of us could not handle,

 

[Kildonan]

If you have nothing to hide why the big deal?

That's how I see it too. When they approach my boat, which is rare, friendly and cooperative is the best approach, you will receive the same attitude back.

 

[Cabezon1]

How many times do I have to say it? I have nothing to hide. I wasn't even on the boat when this took place so I am not offended. Read my initial post, I just asked a simple question on the authoritys of the DFO. Since when did questioning authorities automatically became "you have something to hide"?

 

[Gong Show]

The counter point to the "if you have nothing to hide, then don't worry" is that warrant less searches are illegal in the first instance, unless saved by a technicality.
If you roll through a stop sign because nobody is around you can use the exact same reasoning, "yes it was illegal, but nobody was around so it was okay".
Yes the warrant less search is illegal, but there is nothing to hide, so fly at it.

DFO officers and COs are not bad people, but there are firm rules that are so important they are enshrined in the Charter.
Do not dismiss them so easily.

That being said, I make a judgment call everytime I am detained by a peace officer on how I am going to handle the encounter and do not automatically start spouting off on Charter rights.
I have asked on a number of occasions, after providing my identification and licence, if they have a legal reason to detain me further.

I have read some horrifying instances on the Hull Truth, of peace officer abuse down in the States, California and Florida especially.
We do not want our leisure time to be reflective of that experience.

@Cabezon1 , I don't think anyone is blaming you directly, the discussion just went general.