Fishing Charges?!?! anyone have any experience?! | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Fishing Charges?!?! anyone have any experience?!

MarcosSantiago said:
I have never been fishing in Canada. It is just not my bag of tea.

So, I really do not understand what happened, or why it is wrong. Is it just that they did not have a license?

Why is "netting" a charge?
Why is "illegal transporting" a charge? Do you need a license to transport fish in Canada?

And they got summons! I am completely "WTF" here. Someone please help.
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The charges were the following:

Under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act:

56. A person shall not transport wildlife or fish that was killed, captured, taken or possessed contrary to this Act, the regulations, or the Fisheries Act (Canada) or the regulations under that Act. 1997, c. 41, s. 56.

Under the Ontario Fisheries Regulations:

35. (1) No person shall sport fish using

(a) a dip net

​
(i) with dimensions that are greater than 183 cm by 183 cm if the dip net is angular, or

(ii) with a diameter that is greater than 183 cm if the dip net is circular;
​

(b) a seine net with dimensions that are greater than 10 m by 2 m;

(c) a baitfish trap of a length that is greater than 51 cm or a diameter that is greater than 31 cm;

(d) more than one dip net, baitfish trap or seine net; or

(e) a baitfish trap unless it is legibly marked with their name and address.

​
(2) No person who is sport fishing by a means other than by angling shall

(a) catch and retain in any one day or possess more fish of a species set out in column 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 6 from the waters set out in column 3 in an amount that exceeds the quota set out in column 5 or 6, as the case may be;

(b) use any gear other than the gear set out in column 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 6 for fishing for a species set out in column 1;

(c) fish for, or catch and retain, a species of fish set out in column 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 6 from the waters set out in column 3 during the close time set out in column 4;

(d) fish for, or catch and retain, a species of fish set out in column 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 6 from any waters other than the waters set out in column 3; or

(e) fish for, or catch and retain, any species of fish other than the species set out in column 1 of Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 6.
​

​

In other words they caught and transported disallowed species of fish. The specific charge under the Ontario Fisheries Act was either under section 35.(2)(c) or 35.(2)(e) (hard to read) and so it isn't necessarily about the net, but rather about the species of fish caught AND how. Dip net fishing is precluded for certain dates, under section (c) but any type of fishing might have been precluded for that species, at that time of year.

http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2007-237/page-16.html#h-44

The transportation charge pertains to transporting illegally caught fish.
 
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Messing with the Ministry of Natural Resources is right up there with being a wiseguy with Border Officials, you just don't do it.

The laws are in place to preserve and maintain the wildlife and environmental eco-system. Violate that, and bam! pay huge.
 
Rob MacLennan said:
The charges were the following:

Under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act:

In other words they caught and transported disallowed species of fish. The specific charge under the Ontario Fisheries Act was either under section 35.(2)(c) or 35.(2)(e) (hard to read) and so it isn't necessarily about the net, but rather about the species of fish caught AND how. Dip net fishing is precluded for certain dates, under section (c) but any type of fishing might have been precluded for that species, at that time of year.
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WOW and WTF... that is fu******ng madness!

So if I fish for a Rainbow Smelt using a net between January 1 to the last day in February and June 1 to December 31 , in specifc "Zones" excluding the waters set out in subitem (2) (1), I may commit a crime if I exceed the set limit, but if I use bow and arrow I am OK... right??

Who the f*** is going to read and understand all that legislation?
What if I inteded to fish Rainbow trout but by mistake I caught Rainbow Smelt?

Those rules are seriously messed up.
 
nfq said:
Messing with the Ministry of Natural Resources is right up there with being a wiseguy with Border Officials, you just don't do it.

The laws are in place to preserve and maintain the wildlife and environmental eco-system. Violate that, and bam! pay huge.
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I still don't get it. So if I fish two salmon with a net by myself, I may have to pay $4,000
BUT...
If I go to the supermarket and pay $30 I can have two fish (that were caught with a net by someone else)
I'm still going to consume the same two fish... consuming the wildlife of Canada... what's the difference?
 
MarcosSantiago said:
WOW and WTF... that is fu******ng madness!

So if I fish for a Rainbow Smelt using a net between January 1 to the last day in February and June 1 to December 31 , in specifc "Zones" excluding the waters set out in subitem (2) (1), I may commit a crime if I exceed the set limit, but if I use bow and arrow I am OK... right??

Who the f*** is going to read and understand all that legislation?
What if I inteded to fish Rainbow trout but by mistake I caught Rainbow Smelt?

Those rules are seriously messed up.
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Not too tough really. They lay it out pretty well:

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/LetsFish/Publication/STEL02_163615.html
 
surprisingly hard to find paralegal/lawyers with regards to fish and wildlife acts . . . but every other category seems to be there lmao
 
MarcosSantiago said:
WOW and WTF... that is fu******ng madness!

So if I fish for a Rainbow Smelt using a net between January 1 to the last day in February and June 1 to December 31 , in specifc "Zones" excluding the waters set out in subitem (2) (1), I may commit a crime if I exceed the set limit, but if I use bow and arrow I am OK... right??

Who the f*** is going to read and understand all that legislation?
What if I inteded to fish Rainbow trout but by mistake I caught Rainbow Smelt?

Those rules are seriously messed up.
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Don't forget, there will be two costly court dates, and thousands of dollars in resources spent to prosecute these evil offenders!
Instead, they could have educated the stupid students about their illegal "fun" activity on site and saved the taxpayer a fortune.
Sure, give them a small fine to teach them a lesson and pay for the wardens time.
The fact that the wildlife officers hid in the bushes and waited for them to commit the crime is even funnier.
What ever happened to intervention as opposed to entrapment?
So i guess they don't really care about the fish afterall do they?

Again, there's a big difference between stealing fish with bad intention, knowing you are breaking the law, and some dummies wading around in the water to try their hand at something new.

The younger generation has far less life experiences, tend to be narrow minded, and if you give them a position of authority, they will exercise it as often as possible. Usually incorrectly.
I lived in Jasper National Park for 4 years, i know every old warden in that area.
They enforce the regulations there 10x more than Bowmanville river, but they also know the difference between a professional poacher and some stupid tourists.

You could stab someone in Ontario and suffer less consequences than if you got caught stunt riding with a Rainbow smelt in your bag... :rolleyes:

What we have here is a case of poor judgement by some rookie and Totalitarian Ontario Enforcement.
 
MarcosSantiago said:
I still don't get it. So if I fish two salmon with a net by myself, I may have to pay $4,000
BUT...
If I go to the supermarket and pay $30 I can have two fish (that were caught with a net by someone else)
I'm still going to consume the same two fish... consuming the wildlife of Canada... what's the difference?
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You are assuming a fish is a fish which is just ignorance. Was the fish commercially farmed or was it wild? What sub-species of salmon was it? What location was it caught in (Canada isn't a small place)?

Commercial fisheries are regulated as well.
 
MarcosSantiago said:
Honestly... You have to be joking.

The PDF alone is 27 MB and 108 pages, without counting all the other links.
I think the Ontario motorcycle handbook is shorter !!!
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Or just download the file for the location you are travelling to and check what species are legal.

Or, if doing what they were doing, click on the link at the bottom about dip net fishing.
 
skip said:
You are assuming a fish is a fish which is just ignorance. Was the fish commercially farmed or was it wild? What sub-species of salmon was it? What location was it caught in (Canada isn't a small place)?

Commercial fisheries are regulated as well.
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I was thinking about the wild salmon that I have bought at my local Longos.

What sub-species of salmon is it? Pppfh, I have no idea. And I can't tell Rainbow trout from Rainbow Smelt either. If that is ignorance, so be it... all I know is that I will eat them the same!!
 
MarcosSantiago said:
Who the f*** is going to read and understand all that legislation?
What if I inteded to fish Rainbow trout but by mistake I caught Rainbow Smelt?

Those rules are seriously messed up.
Click to expand...

Anyone who is a serious angler/hunter.

If you can't understand why these laws are put in place, maybe you shouldn't do any form of hunting, catching, trapping, etc.

As for the supermarket question. Fish sold at the supermarket are caught and processed by licensed fishermen with permission to catch said fish, where ever it is they catch them, and by however means they catch them. Whereas, if you went in and net the stream yourself, you do not have a license to catch; do not have a license to use a net; etc.
They also tend to catch far out in the ocean, where there are plenty of fish laying around. A body of water in Ontario has a far less dense population.
Also, the majority of fish sold in a supermarket is farmed.
 
Sabex said:
Anyone who is a serious angler/hunter.

If you can't understand why these laws are put in place, maybe you shouldn't do any form of hunting, catching, trapping, etc.

As for the supermarket question. Fish sold at the supermarket are caught and processed by licensed fishermen with permission to catch said fish, where ever it is they catch them, and by however means they catch them. Whereas, if you went in and net the stream yourself, you do not have a license to catch; do not have a license to use a net; etc.
They also tend to catch far out in the ocean, where there are plenty of fish laying around. A body of water in Ontario has a far less dense population.
Also, the majority of fish sold in a supermarket is farmed.
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Most of the serious and even semi-serious fisherman, can recite the entire fishing guide front-to-back.

Ignorance is not a valid excuse of the law.
 
IIts illegal to transport live game fish if you do not have a commercial licenses. Netting in fresh bodies of water is generally illegal in most places unless you have a commercial dial license. Not only that, there are very strict laws regarding salmon fishing that vary from zone to zone. I don't know about the place they were doing it but usually its a no kill zone meaning u must release any fish caught. The rules are there to protect the fishery. I refuse to believe that anyone was "starving" . And if they wanted a fun day of fishing, they could have done it legally with game fish that are in the process of breeding.

Like many pointed out, your friends are lucky not be walking home. As a advid angler myself, I've seen guys have their vehicals and boat siezed on the spot. I'm talking $50000+ bass boats seized for taking over your limit of fish.

Not only that they didn't even have licenses... are you kidding me? It cost like 17$ for the whole year to fish legally. Were they THAT cheap?

I didnt look at the posted ticket but from my knowledge they would be most likely heading to federal court. Dont cheap out, tell them to get good lawyers. Because this isn't a hta offence that you want to plead guilty to in hopes of a reduced fine.

Edit: Im also curious to know whether your friends knew what they were doing was illegal or not. Generally these rivers and streams are plastered with signs stating consevation laws for that particular body of water. Especially these salmon rivers with very specific regulations.

Sorry for the wall of text but reading about poachers really gets me riled up, being a guy who enjoys combining riding and fishing.

Also its better to keep the medium fish rather than the large breeders.

Crappy tire usually has those booklets with all the rules about fishing that are given out for free. Its very easy to read and understand for those interested in getting into the hobby



sent from tap talk.
 
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Oh my gawd . . . they are so screwed lmfao. Well i think the reason they didnt seize the cars was because the fish never went into the car yet..they were on the walk back to the cars is when the officers came out of the dark to book em (11pm). Does anyone happen to know a lawyer whos willing to deal with this kind of crap because google isnt pulling out any wildlife act lawyers whatsoever. Just wondering would a lawyer really be worth it if they're going to end up pleading guilty?
 
Bweixz said:
Oh my gawd . . . they are so screwed lmfao. Well i think the reason they didnt seize the cars was because the fish never went into the car yet..they were on the walk back to the cars is when the officers came out of the dark to book em (11pm). Does anyone happen to know a lawyer whos willing to deal with this kind of crap because google isnt pulling out any wildlife act lawyers whatsoever. Just wondering would a lawyer really be worth it if they're going to end up pleading guilty?
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The cars were used to bring the nets to the fishing spot so count the blessings. Where things get really tough is when there is premeditated action. ie hidden fish storage spots in huts etc.
 
nobbie48 said:
The cars were used to bring the nets to the fishing spot so count the blessings. Where things get really tough is when there is premeditated action. ie hidden fish storage spots in huts etc.
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I see well i don't think they can afford a lawyer... they're just going to go in before court on a “without prejudice basis” ask the Prosecutor what fine he or she will be seeking. If the fine is reasonable then they'll just take the hit and plead guilty..with hopes that the Prosecutor can see that they aren't poachers..
 
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