Salmon carcasses: ‘Quebec becomes El Dorado for poachers’

Former Olympian Jean-Luc Brassard revealed on his Instagram account on Sunday that he received salmon carcasses in his mailbox from illegal fishermen whose practices he denounces.

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Mr. Brassard found these bodies in his mailbox, on his children’s trampoline, along his house and at the entrance to his yard.

“They clearly do not like their transgressions to be known, so on Friday night they left 4 headless salmon in various places on our property,” we read in his post.

He claims that these hunters hunt in the middle of the night using tridents, illuminating themselves with flashlights. This fish, in the process of spawning, that is, when the female lays eggs and the male fertilizes them, is sold and sent to the city.

“They sell rotten fillets of these fish that spawn when they are at the end of their lives to the poor of the city!”

“I think the reality for wildlife officials, who talk to them fairly regularly, is that they are already outnumbered. They have vast areas to cover with very limited numbers.”

“With us, it’s the fish, they are very aware of the situation. 15 years ago, they came to the field to try to catch the poachers, but it’s complicated.

“These are fishermen who find themselves with tens of thousands of unpaid fines and they don’t care; “They start again the next day,” Mr. Brassard worries.

“Wildlife officers are understaffed, and poachers know it all too well.”

“I wonder if Quebec won’t become an El Dorado for poachers. Everything is done with complete impunity and the fines are not very big.

Watch the full interview in the video above.