Update: April 17, 2025
Both Lee-Dodek and Peng were convicted of five charges in the case. According to Vancouver Provincial Court documents, Lee-Dodek was fined $3,000 and Peng was fined $1,500 on July 14, 2022.
Judge Nancy Adams also prohibited both from fishing for one year.
Original: March 16, 2022
Two men are facing multiple fishing-related charges in Vancouver Provincial Court stemming from incidents near Valdes Island in July 2021.
Evan Lee-Dodek and Chang Peng face charges of fishing during a closed period, and catching and retaining undersized lingcod and rockfish.
It’s alleged they did not return the rockfish to the water; it's also alleged both caught and retained hatchery and wild coho salmon and undersized chinook salmon.
Lee-Dodek and Peng also face charges of possessing fish caught in contravention of the federal Fisheries Act, the legislation under which most of the charges fall.
The pair also face a charge of fishing using gear of a method out of season.
Lee-Dodek is charged with failing to record a lingcod catch and possessing a chinook where prohibited. Peng is charged with failing to carry a tidal waters sport fishing licence and failing to record chinook and lingcod catches.
Lee-Dodek had a Vancouver Provincial Court appearance set for March 15 and is due to return March 29. Peng returns to court March 22.
Valdes Island is southeast of Nanaimo in the Strait of Georgia.
