The Nova Scotia government says it will create an enforcement unit to combat the illegal purchasing and processing of seafood.
Fisheries Minister Kent Smith says in a news release the unit will include four inspectors who will focus on wharfs and seafood facilities where there is known illegal activity.
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Smith did not say when the new unit is expected to be up and running.
The province says that up to 30 per cent of the lobster caught every year in the Atlantic region goes unreported, representing about $400 million in under-the-table sales.
The RCMP say they’ve laid dozens of charges in recent years related to illegal fishing, including for cases where gun shots were fired into residential homes.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada says that between June and October its officers in Nova Scotia seized 1,529 lobster traps and six fishing boats, and released more than 28,000 live lobsters back to the ocean.
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