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Landowners spend $155,000 to restore damaged fish habitat near Smithers
Landowners completed restoration work costing about $155,000 under a Fisheries Act direction. A contracted excavator operator was fined $26,100 and ordered to forfeit a machine for offences under the Fisheries Act and the Water Sustainability Act.
Smithers Provincial Court fined a contracted excavator operator a total of $26,100 on Sept. 22, 2026, for offences under the Fisheries Act and the Water Sustainability Act. The operator had been convicted on Feb. 25, 2026, of five offences: three involving damage to fish habitat, one for working without legal authorization and one for failing to provide information requested by a fishery officer. The court also ordered the operator to forfeit a Bobcat excavator valued at about $50,000, which had been seized during the offences.
The landowners were ordered under subsection 38(7.1) of the Fisheries Act to restore the damaged fish habitat. They completed the work at a cost of about $155,000. They were not charged because they co-operated throughout the investigation.
The offences occurred in and around Toboggan Creek near Smithers, B.C., from Oct. 3 to 13, 2023, during a peak period for salmon migration and spawning. The court found that digging up the creek bed, filling in the channel and removing vegetation along the banks damaged and destroyed fish habitat. The work lacked authorizations required under both the Fisheries Act and the Water Sustainability Act.
Toboggan Creek is a high-value system in the Skeena watershed that supports coho and pink salmon, steelhead, rainbow trout and bull trout, providing important habitat for several species. Fishery officers work with biologists from Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program to ensure work near water complies with the Fisheries Act’s fish and habitat protection provisions.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada says it is committed to protecting and conserving marine resources and enforces the Fisheries Act. Suspected fisheries violations can be reported to the department’s Pacific Region toll-free line at 1-800-465-4336 or by email at DFO.ORR-ONS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
The proceedings against the excavator operator are listed as Provincial Court docket No. 27252-1. The case and the corrective-measures direction issued to the landowners under subsection 38(7.1) underscore the importance of understanding the rules for projects near water and seeking guidance when needed. Fisheries and Oceans Canada provides resources and a checklist to determine whether a project may require review: “Request a review of your project near water: Step 3. Check if your project needs a review.”