SNE Sea Products to pay $15,000 for disposal at sea violations

SYDNEY, N.S. -- May 30, 2012 -- On May 16, 2012, SNE Sea Products Incorporated, its CEO and President, Mr. Yong Taek Kim, and company director, Mr. Man Hwa Lee, pleaded guilty in Nova Scotia provincial court in Sydney to dumping hagfish into Louisbourg Harbour without a permit--a violation of the disposal at sea regulations of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. The company was ordered to pay a $15,000 penalty. 

In February 2010, the Department received a public complaint that a large quantity of hagfish, also known as slime eels, was dumped into Louisbourg Harbour. Environment Canada enforcement officers carried out an inspection and observed approximately 90,000 kilogrammes of dead hagfish in the water and along the shore of the harbour.

The Department opened an investigation into the incident in March 2010 and subsequently laid charges against SNE Sea Products Incorporated on August 16, 2011.

The Court ordered that all $15,000 of the penalty will be directed to the Environmental Damages Fund.

The Environmental Damages Fund supports the “Polluter Pays Principle”. It provides judges and prosecutors with an effective and innovative mechanism for responding to environmental damage, thus ensuring that environmental good can result from environmental harm.

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Media Relations
Environment Canada
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