A fourth person has been fined in relation to illegal shellfish harvesting in Deep Bay in Aug. 2023, with the combined fines totalling $18,000. (Image Credit: The Canadian Press)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

further fishing fines

Fourth person fined for illegal Deep Bay oyster harvesting

Aug 7, 2026 | 4:17 PM

NANAIMO — A fourth person has been fined in relation to illegally harvesting shellfish in Deep Bay north of Qualicum Beach.

Xiaohua (Jessica) Liu, born 1977, was fined $4,500 in a provincial court in Courtenay on July 7, after being found guilty during trial of making a false or misleading statement and being in unlawful possession of oysters, according to an Aug. 7, news release from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).

Three others, Ya Chung Lao, born 1960, Yilai Zhu, born 1993, and Chun Shui Tu, born 1973, were also fined after pleading guilty to several Fisheries Act violations in a Vancouver court in 2024.

The convictions were published online after charges were officially filed last November, stemming from inspections conducted by DFO on Aug. 26, 2023, near Deep Bay.

Ilegally harvested clams were confiscated by DFO officers and used as evidence in court during the trial. (Image Credit: DFO)

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In the release, DFO said some of the accused failed to appear in court, resulting in arrest warrants being issued for Liu and Lao in 2025 and 2024, respectively.

Lao was fined $7,000 for obstructing a fishery officer and purchasing, selling or possessing illegally caught oysters, and was prohibited from fishing for a year.

Tu and Zhu were fined $3,000 and $3,500 respectively after they pleaded guilty to harvesting oysters without a license and purchasing, selling or possessing illegally caught oysters.

Lao had until the end of 2025 to pay the fine, while Tu and Zhu were ordered to pay up by the end of 2024.

Licenses are required to legally participate in the recreational oyster fishery in the province, with a daily catch limit of twelve.

More information on shellfish harvesting can be found here on the DFO’s website.

— With files from Ian Holmes and The Canadian Press.

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by NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

Fourth person fined for illegal Deep Bay oyster harvesting

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