THUNDER BAY – The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry laid 16 charges and issued 21 warnings during a one-day aerial enforcement patrol in the Thunder Bay area.
On March 24, 2018, conservation officers from the Thunder Bay Enforcement Unit patrolled remote areas around Thunder Bay and within Quetico Provincial Park by helicopter checking for compliance with the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act and Ontario’s Fishery Regulations. Officers checked 45 anglers from Ontario and the United States.
Charges were laid for:
- fishing without a licence
- fishing with too many lines
- possessing rainbow smelt for use as bait
- being more than 60 metres from a line
- angling using a barbed hook in Quetico Provincial Park
- not using an artificial lure to angle in Quetico Provincial Park.
Warnings were issued for:
- entering a provincial park without a permit
- fishing without carrying a licence.
Rainbow smelt, a prohibited baitfish species in several fisheries management zones, and lures with barbed hooks were seized from anglers in Quetico Provincial Park.
Officers also laid charges and issued warnings under the Liquor Licence Act and Motorized Snow Vehicles Act for having open liquor, failing to produce evidence of insurance, driving a motorized snow vehicle without insurance and failing to wear a helmet.
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). And visit Ontario.ca/mnrftips to view an interactive, searchable map of unsolved cases. You may be able to provide information that will help solve a case.
