Father, son face more intimidation charges tied to illegal fishing in Nova Scotia

A lobster trap is seen in this image taken on May 23, 2024.

DIGBY, N.S. — Three men are in jail after they were charged with uttering threats, intimidation and extortion in a southwestern Nova Scotia community where violence tied to illegal fishing is on the rise.

Zacharie David Thibault, 32, of Digby, his father Eric David Thibault, 65, of Little Brook, and Kevin Eric Langford, 32, of Church Point appeared Monday in provincial court and are set to have a bail hearing on Friday.

The Mounties say the three accused were arrested after a man was threatened last week at his home in Saulnierville, N.S. According to court documents, police also allege that the three accused threatened to shoot at the man’s home and burn it down, “kill his dogs,” and extort him for $10,000.

Eric and Zacharie Thibault are also charged with failure to comply with bail conditions for another, high-profile instance of alleged intimidation. In that case, police alleged in late November that the father and son confronted a lobster buyer, Geoffrey Jobert, outside his home near Meteghan, N.S. The incident came just days after someone fired a shot that passed through Jobert’s home on Nov. 23. Police are not alleging the Thibaults were involved in the shooting.

Sgt. Jeff LeBlanc, commander of the RCMP detachment in nearby Meteghan, said in December that over the past two years officers had laid 51 charges against a “criminal organization” tied to illegal fisheries.

Jobert, owner of the family-run Lobster Hub Inc., has said the attack on his home was the latest example of intimidation against buyers and processors by people with links to illegal lobster purchasing. The threats started last season, when he began buying lobster from licensed, commercial harvesters who refused to provide their catch to facilities allegedly purchasing illegally caught lobster, he has said.

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 last year. There were 10 arson cases in 2022 and nine in 2023, more than double the figures reported in 2018 and 2019.

The Mounties say there have been four instances in the small town of shots being fired into homes over the past year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2025.

-- Story by Michael Tutton in Halifax.