N.S. lobster buyer calls for heightened policing after shot fired into Meteghan home

A lobster buyer in Meteghan, N.S., is looking for increased policing and a community-wide push aimed at organized crime after a bullet was fired into his home on Saturday night.

Geoffrey Jobert, owner of the family-run Lobster Hub Inc., said Tuesday he believes the attack is the latest example of intimidation against some buyers and processors by organized criminals with links to illegal lobster purchasing in southwestern Nova Scotia.

The 30-year-old said he did not hear anything unusual Saturday night but he woke up on Sunday to find bullet damage in his home, including a hole in a living room sofa where he and his girlfriend sometimes sit and chat.

"I'm taking as many precautions as I can for my safety because I don't want to die over a lobster business, but I also don't want to give up my whole life because there are some thugs in the community," said Jobert.

"I think they need to bring in specialized RCMP," he added.

Fear in the community

The business owner said he started receiving threats after he began buying lobster last season from licensed, commercial harvesters who were no longer willing to provide their catch to facilities allegedly purchasing illegally caught lobster.

"Police are being a bit more responsive, but I do wish it would be taken more seriously...I'm wondering what it's going to take for the government to step in and take it more seriously. Will it take someone being killed?" he asked, referring to a series of arsons and cases of shots being fired into homes.

Jobert says there is fear in the community, but he'd like to see more people come forward with information about the various attacks. "If we came together, we'd be stronger," he said.

The RCMP issued a statement on Sunday saying they had received a report of shots fired in the Meteghan area and were investigating.

Crime statistics provided by the RCMP indicate that over the past two years there has been an increase in assaults, gun violence and arson in Meteghan, including the torching of an RCMP police car earlier this year. There were 10 arson cases in 2022 and nine in 2023, more than double the figures seen in 2018 and 2019.

Supt. Jason Popik, the RCMP district policing officer in the southwest Nova Scotia region, said in a recent interview that "there is organized crime within Meteghan," adding he's trying to increase the number of officers in the town.

RCMP response

There is a currently an RCMP staff complement of seven, but Sgt. Jeff LeBlanc, the detachment commander in Meteghan, said in an interview Tuesday the RCMP can draw on specialists from neighbouring detachments when special expertise and forensic identification methods are needed.

LeBlanc said he can't confirm if organized crime is involved in Jobert's case because the investigation is in "its infancy," but he described the latest incident as very concerning.

"We've had these shootings in homes in the recent past. I think this is number four in the last seven months. We've had numerous threats, assaults and arsons that we're investigating regarding this organized crime group, and we haven't stopped our efforts to try and solidify criminal charges against these individuals," he said.

More help needed, groups say

Ruth Inniss, a fisheries adviser with the Maritime Fishermen's Union, said in an interview that her group has pushed for greater enforcement through meetings with the federal justice minister along with the provincial Fisheries Department, which can levy fines for the purchase of illegal lobster.

"They have advised they have put more [officers]on the ground and they're doing more investigative-crime type work. But clearly, it's not working," Inniss said.

She said there's been a steady stream of letters from her inshore fishers group calling on government authorities to find ways to end illegal fishing and crimes connected to it. "This wouldn't be happening if the federal government was doing its job and the fish wasn't coming out of the water illegally," she said.

Colin Sproul, the president of the Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance, said in an email that his group which advocates for commercial fishers is becoming increasingly alarmed at government inaction. The group recently launched a $10-million lawsuit against companies in southwestern Nova Scotia that it alleges are buying illegal lobster.

"We are outraged by the continuing violence related to illegal fishing in the St. Mary's Bay area," he said. "Governments and law enforcement agencies continue to stand by while our fishery and our communities descend into chaos."