NIPIGON – REGIONAL – Five Americans and two Ontario residents have been fined a total of $2,250 for angling offences on Lake Nipigon.
Logan Davidowski, Robert Jozwiak, Robert Meuret and Kyle Vliestra, all of Wisconsin, pleaded guilty and were each fined $250 for angling with a barbed hook. Their fishing gear was forfeited to the Crown.
John Klassen of Minneapolis, Minnesota, pleaded guilty to angling with two lines with barbed hooks and one line with more than one barbless hook. He was fined a total of $750.
Ontario residents Randy Rider of Owen Sound and Ronald D’Aoust of Westmeath pleaded guilty and were each fined $250 for angling with a barbed hook. Their fishing gear was forfeited to the Crown.
Court heard that the anglers were contacted during a three-day enforcement blitz on Lake Nipigon.
Justice of the Peace Anna Gibbon heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Nipigon, on September 25, 2017.
The ministry reminds anglers that only one barbless hook may be used when fishing on Lake Nipigon.
For further information on fishing regulations, please consult the Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary, available at ontario.ca/fishing.
To report a natural resources violation, call the MNRF TIPS line at 1-877-847-7667 toll-free any time or contact your local ministry office during regular business hours. You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).