Smithers excavator operator fined, loses Bobcat over salmon creek damage

An excavator operator has been fined $26,100 and ordered to give up a Bobcat excavator after work that damaged salmon habitat in Toboggan Creek near Smithers, B.C., Fisheries and Oceans Canada said Friday. The landowners who hired the work paid about $155,000 to restore the creek.

The Provincial Court in Smithers imposed the fine on Sept. 22, 2026, for offences under the federal Fisheries Act and B.C.’s Water Sustainability Act, the department said. The operator, who was not named in the release, was convicted on Feb. 25, 2026, of three offences for damaging fish habitat, one for working without legal authorization and one for failing to give a fishery officer information that was requested. The court also ordered the operator to forfeit the seized excavator, valued at about $50,000.

The work took place between Oct. 3 and Oct. 13, 2023, during peak salmon migration and spawning. The court found that digging up the creek bed, filling in the channel and stripping vegetation from the banks damaged and destroyed fish habitat, and that no permits had been obtained under either law.

The landowners were not charged because they co-operated with the investigation, the department said. Instead, they were directed under the Fisheries Act to restore the damaged habitat, and completed the work at a cost of about $155,000.

Toboggan Creek is part of the Skeena watershed and supports coho and pink salmon, steelhead, rainbow trout and bull trout.

What it means for you

Anyone planning work in or near a creek, river or lake, even on private land, may need federal and provincial approval first. Fisheries and Oceans Canada has an online checklist, “Projects near water,” to see whether a project needs a review. Suspected violations in B.C. can be reported to the department’s Pacific Region line at 1-800-465-4336.

Source: Fisheries and Oceans Canada news release, Nov. 6, 2026.