Two Nova Scotia ministers say inadequate federal enforcement of the lobster fishery in the province’s southwest has led to organized crime “terrorizing” the local community.
Fisheries Minister Kent Smith and Justice Minister Barbara Adams wrote letters to the federal government asking for help.
In their recent letters to federal Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier, they say there is an increase in serious crime in the Clare and Meteghan areas.
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Smith says the inability of the federal Fisheries Department to prevent illegal and out-of-season lobster fishing has “enabled and emboldened the growth of organized crime.”
He tells Lebouthillier that he has heard directly from fishers who have been threatened and who are afraid to speak out.
Adams says the provincial Justice Department has responded by doubling the number of RCMP members in the Municipality of Clare at costs that are “borne by the province of Nova Scotia.”
In recent months, RCMP in the Meteghan area have reported several violent crimes including two incidents of shots being fired at a home, two arsons and the burning of a police vehicle, although none of the incidents were specifically linked to the fishery.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2024.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
