Poachers scattered decapitated salmon in Jean-Luc Brassard’s mailbox, on his children’s trampoline and everywhere on his land in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, in the middle of the night, last week. This is because illegal fishermen did not like that the former mogul ski champion denounced their illicit activities in a radio column.
For years, Jean-Luc Brassard has noticed that poachers have set up shop near his yard, which overlooks an arm of the St. Lawrence River, to fish for salmon in the fall. The problem is that these fishermen use grappling hooks, a kind of hook that they throw at the end of a line and which they hook vigorously into the back or sides of the fish. This fishing technique is illegal.
“They come at night with big headlamps and they light up the water. When a fish comes up to the hook, they give it a good shot so it hits their back. […] A friend comes with a big net, they take out the fish, put it in a cooler, put it in the car and they disappear. It lasts 30 seconds, it goes super fast,” says Mr. Brassard. These fishermen also target other species of fish such as muskellunge or walleye, depending on the season, he adds.
He and his neighborhood are saddened that poachers have no respect for the fauna and flora. The ex-skier, who bought his childhood home, also notes a decrease in the number of fish in this arm of the river which is around fifty meters wide. In some places the water is very shallow.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Wildlife agent at the residence of Jean-Luc Brassard
“They walk anywhere without worrying about where there might be eggs. Poachers bulldoze anywhere. They smoke cigarettes then they throw them in the water,” he denounces, recalling that cigarette butts are extremely polluting. A cigarette butt can pollute up to 500 liters of water, according to the organization Zéro Mégot.
Mr. Brassard tried to arrest the offenders himself, but his intervention did not bear fruit. He also contacted the police, to no avail.
Denunciation on the radio
About ten days ago, in his column on the midday show at 98.5, Mr. Brassard decided to address the subject. What looks like an act of revenge was not long in coming. During the night of October 25 to 26, heads and bodies of mutilated fish were scattered across his land.
Just last weekend he found more pieces of crippled fish in his hedge and in his letterbox. It was the smell of putrefaction that guided him to these places.
“I jumped by opening the mailbox. A face was looking at me. The body was perfectly cut in half. It stank in there, it was terrible,” he says, disgusted.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The dead fish left last weekend in Jean-Luc Brassard’s mailbox
Nicolas Gendron, a fishing guide on Lake Saint-François upstream of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, confirms that he has already witnessed scenes of poaching. “Poaching exists. There have always been some on Lake Saint-François,” he says bluntly.
In 2019, around a hundred wildlife agents succeeded in dismantling a vast poaching network in this sector. Those arrested were fishing and selling sturgeon, striped bass, yellow perch and walleye.
The intervention of the agents had been publicized, six searches had been carried out in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, and fish and fishing equipment had been seized.
“Unfortunately, Quebec is big,” underlines Mr. Gendron, who has been a guide for 12 years. Wildlife officers are very few in number. We almost never come across them. Lake Saint-François is large and Lake Saint-Louis is right next door. Plus, with fall, there’s hunting to watch out for. »
Salmon in the river?
Chinook salmon is a Pacific species that was introduced to the Great Lakes in 1950. Some chinook drift from Lake Ontario towards the river, as far as Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, where they spawn.
As the area is not known for salmon, this fishing is authorized all year round. No chinook quota is imposed by the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP) in zone 8, which includes Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and the island from Montreal, in particular.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Chinook salmon going up the watercourse adjoining Jean-Luc Brassard’s land
“A fisherman has the right to fish for salmon [à la ligne ou à la mouche], but he is not allowed to catch any fish, whether salmon, sturgeon or walleye. Often what happens in the river is that we fish by sight. We see fish in shallow water. This is why fishermen succeed in snagging them [à les accrocher] », explains the one who offers bass, walleye or pike fishing excursions.
In Quebec, poachers face a fine of up to $5,000 for a first offense and up to $15,000, depending on the Law on the conservation and development of wildlife. A prison sentence of 90 days can also be imposed on a repeat offender.
Regarding the number of infraction reports given since the start of the year under this law, the MELCCFP was not able to answer our questions on Monday. The Ministry has also not indicated where poached fish are most often sold.