MNRF lays charges after aerial enforcement near Quetico Provincial Park

[Some Old Guy 968]

A total of 16 charges and 21 warnings were issued on Saturday

Conservation officers in Thunder Bay, Ont. say they have laid a total of 16 charges and 21 warnings after a one-day aerial enforcement patrol on Saturday, March 24.

The Thunder Bay enforcement unit patrolled remote areas around the Lakehead and Quetico Provincial Park by helicopter to check if anglers are following the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act and Ontario's Fishery Regulations.

On Saturday, conservation officers said they checked 45 anglers from Ontario and the United States and laid charges for several offences including fishing without a licence, using a barbed hook in Quetico Provincial Park, and fishing with too many lines.

Warnings were also issued for entering a provincial park without a permit and fishing without carrying a licence.

Officers said they also seized rainbow smelt, a prohibited baitfish species in several fishers management zones.

Officers also charged and gave warnings for having open liquor, failing to produce evidence of insurance, and driving a motorized snow vehicle without insurance, and failing to wear a helmet.

[2112 174]

Having seen the costs to fly helicopters, I really hope they made their money back. Im all for enforcement, but I think 3 CO split up on snow machines in the area for the day could have done the same job at a quatre of the price. Not to mention the risks to the blades landing on that ice. If 1 single piece of ice gets picked up and hits the prop, no doubt those repairs are coming out of our licence fees. I dunno, this helicopter method of enforcement this time of year doesn't make sense to me.

[smokerscully1 16]

I’ve got a couple of thoughts on this.

 

its a really high-profile way to enforce the law. You can’t run and you can’t hide from a helicopter.

 

16 charges laid out of 45 guys checked is 30% non-compliance rate! You either have a hell of a lot of criminals out in the bush or you got a lot a Mickey Mouse  regulations.

 

Cost of enforcement has nothing to do with liscense fee income. Fishing liscense income goes to general fund not dedicated in any way to MNRF budget.

[Bobber Down 921]

The CO's perk. Nice! Ride in a chopper for the day and keep anglers on their toes. Maybe the snow machines were being serviced. As you can see there is a lot of offenses. You can see a lot more from the air and with those big binoculars they have............I bet most of the charges were from the US anglers who accessed the park and got into Canada from MN. Ontario anglers are law abiding folk are we not.

[dunnhuntin 9]

29 minutes ago, Bobber Down said:

............I bet most of the charges were from the US anglers who accessed the park and got into Canada from MN. Ontario anglers are law abiding folk.

You might be surprised, but I have had almost the opposite experience. I've worked several seasons at fishing lodges and when we found someone trying to take home extra fish it was rarely an American angler. I obviously cant speak for all of them, but most of the Americans who came up to fish are very respectful of the law. They knew it was a privilege to come here and enjoy the better fishing and wanted to be able to do that in the future. Most believed that if caught for any infraction there was a high probability they wouldn't be able to come back on another fishing trip to Canada so it kept them honest!

[dunnhuntin 9]

16 charges and 21 warnings is A LOT for 45 anglers! Sounds like the helicopter helped get them to the right places. Patrols that get a lot of attention like that are a good deterrent as well. Makes people think twice before breaking the law if they think a helicopter might give you a visit later!

[NLTrapper 3]

5 minutes ago, dunnhuntin said:

16 charges and 21 warnings is A LOT for 45 anglers! Sounds like the helicopter helped get them to the right places. Patrols that get a lot of attention like that are a good deterrent as well. Makes people think twice before breaking the law if they think a helicopter might give you a visit later!

I agree with Dunn, high profile patrols like this make would be law breakers realize that the CO's can show up anytime anywhere.  There is much more value in this story beyond the charges that were laid.  It's nice to see them do this once in a while..

[naden 131]

CO's were out in the same area the day before on snowmachines. In the northern lights area there is definitely more sled traffic from the saganaga area up into the quetico border area but hard to say if it is american or canadian citizens. 

[Shawn 24]

Takin the fun outa fishing good job

[Bobber Down 921]

Here's another one that got caught. Imagine the ones that are getting away with it.

 

A Michigan resident has been fined $13,050 for possessing an over-limit of walleye.

William Krueger, of East Tawas, pleaded guilty and was fined $13,050 for possessing more  walleye than allowed under the Ontario Fishery Regulations. He was also suspended from fishing in Ontario for 10 years.

Court heard that on September 2, 2017, conservation officers contacted Krueger, who was leaving White Lake Provincial Park, on Highway 17, in his vehicle while towing a fifth wheel trailer and motor boat. During the inspection, Krueger produced three plastic bags of skinless frozen pike from his trailer freezer. Upon further inspection of the trailer, the officers discovered a chest freezer with a built-in compartment under a false bottom containing 64 bags of frozen, skinless fish. Upon thawing the fish, the officers determined Krueger had 95 walleye – 87 over the combined possession limit for Krueger and his spouse under a sport fishing licence.

Justice of the Peace Denette Maslach heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Marathon, on March 20, 2018.

The public is reminded that catch and possession limits are in place to ensure the sustainability of Ontario’s fisheries.

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). 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.

[Iron Ranger 125]

32 minutes ago, Bobber Down said:

Here's another one that got caught. Imagine the ones that are getting away with it.

 

A Michigan resident has been fined $13,050 for possessing an over-limit of walleye.

William Krueger, of East Tawas, pleaded guilty and was fined $13,050 for possessing more  walleye than allowed under the Ontario Fishery Regulations. He was also suspended from fishing in Ontario for 10 years.

Court heard that on September 2, 2017, conservation officers contacted Krueger, who was leaving White Lake Provincial Park, on Highway 17, in his vehicle while towing a fifth wheel trailer and motor boat. During the inspection, Krueger produced three plastic bags of skinless frozen pike from his trailer freezer. Upon further inspection of the trailer, the officers discovered a chest freezer with a built-in compartment under a false bottom containing 64 bags of frozen, skinless fish. Upon thawing the fish, the officers determined Krueger had 95 walleye – 87 over the combined possession limit for Krueger and his spouse under a sport fishing licence.

Justice of the Peace Denette Maslach heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Marathon, on March 20, 2018.

The public is reminded that catch and possession limits are in place to ensure the sustainability of Ontario’s fisheries.

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). 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.

 

My your opnion seems slated a bit as far as law breakers go. I am from Minnesota and have been coming up to your beautiful country for over 50 years.

I have seen everything as far as people breaking the law fishing, hunting and general behavior. MN residents and Ontario residents are included. As an example on White Otter I have seen rock cribs set to hold Walleye to cull out the small ones (under 8#) by all parties. I have seen jug fishing (mainly Canadian) for trout. My truck has been keyed recently at the Ann bay launch in the shape of a maple leaf. I have seen for many years the MNR go up in Ann bay and issue tags at every campsite for numerous violations.

Most of the locals laugh any tickets off and tell the OP that they will be back next week.

 

Perhaps you should look at your own residents before blaming non residents.

[Bobber Down 921]

Oh we have some bad ones here to Iron Ranger. We hear about the sensational cases that make the courts and the news like the one below from several years back. Lots of smaller cases involving Canadian and US residents alike. There is plenty of blame to go around and over 3.5 million in unpaid fines yet to be paid.

 

Eleven people have pleaded guilty to a total of 68 charges and been fined $72,500 for offences that took place at a hunting and fishing lodge in northwest Ontario.

Steve Herbeck, former owner and operator of 1216818 Ontario Inc., carrying on business as Andy Myers Lodge, on Eagle Lake, west of Dryden, was fined a total of $7,500 and his business was fined a total of $27,000 for 22 offences. He is not allowed to hunt in Ontario for ten years.

 

Danny Herbeck and Chris Federman, both lodge employees, were fined $7,000 each for their offences and cannot hunt for the next four and eight years respectively. At the time of the offences, all three men lived in Mineral Point, Wisconsin.

Andy Bouchard of Waldhof, Ontario, pleaded guilty to three hunting offences and was fined $4,000. He is not allowed to hunt in Ontario for one year.

Scott Munford of Vermilion Bay, Ontario, pleaded guilty to six charges under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act and was fined $7,000. He is not allowed to hunt in Ontario for two years.

Calum Ritchie of Waldhof, Ontario, pleaded guilty to two charges and was fined $2,000. He is not allowed to hunt in Ontario for one year.

Tammy Pelletier of Waldhof, Ontario, pleaded guilty to two charges and was fined $2,500. She is not allowed to hunt in Ontario for one year.

Bouchard, Munford, Ritchie and Pelletier were all lodge employees at the time of the offences.

George Lindsay of Wedderburn Ranfurly, New Zealand pleaded guilty to three hunting offences and was fined $3,000. He is not allowed to hunt in Ontario for one year.

Travis Runde of Mineral Point, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty and was fined $1,000 for two firearm offences. He cannot hunt in Ontario for one year.

Don Rabideau Jr. of Morrisonville, New York, pleaded guilty to four hunting offences and was fined $3,000. He is not allowed to hunt in Ontario for one year.

Lindsay, Runde, and Rabideau Jr. were all lodge guests.

Ron Jaeger of Eagle River, Ontario, pleaded guilty to one offence and was fined $500.

The 11 people listed above pleaded guilty to a total of 68 charges under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, Ontario Fishery Regulations and Migratory Birds Convention Act. Their offences included:

unlawfully hunting wolf
unlawfully using a hunting licence belonging to another person
making a false statement in a document
making a false statement to a conservation officer
having a loaded firearm in a vehicle
possessing uncased firearms at night
discharging a firearm from a roadway
unlawfully selling game wildlife
unlawfully selling migratory birds
fishing with more than one fishing line
failing to comply with the requirements for an Ontario Hunting and Fishing Licence Issuer, and
possessing an over-limit of Canada geese
The court heard that Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officers conducted a two-year covert investigation in cooperation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the departments of Natural Resources for Wisconsin, Michigan, New York and Minnesota, and the New Zealand Commission of Wildlife.

Conservation officers discovered that Steve Herbeck and his staff encouraged clients to hunt wolves without a licence.

Staff then used their own resident licences to validate the wolf or arranged for guests to buy licences afterward.

Steve Herbeck allowed guests to fish without a licence and later sold them backdated fishing licences.

As part of their package, guests were fed grouse and mallard duck and advised they were fed American elk, all of which the lodge was not allowed to sell.

Steve Herbeck also took guests muskellunge fishing and used more than the allowable amount of fishing rods.

 

[Some Old Guy 968]

Hey guys,

 

I don't want this going into USA vs Can. Lets leave that to hockey!!!

 

Roger

[toma-hawk 44]

I got buzzed a couple years ago on a deer hunt while pushing the bush towards my buddy,my push was over. By the time I got to my buddy Co,s on the ground payed him a visit,They work together with the helecopter.Anyway Im glad they are out there doing the job,   

                   Rick

[tracker 61]

I was checked out two Saturday's ago by the CO's in the helicopter.  One reason they are flying is they are still checking for effort regarding lake trout fishing as this was part of the follow up for FMZ 6. Since the change in the lake trout winter season, the OMNRF was to monitor to see if there has been an increase in fishing effort and harvest on some of the smaller lake trout lakes. They were flying the border lakes than came up through the Boreal Rd area most likely to Greenwater. 

[j.klister 24]

One third of people checked breaking the law is not a good look unfortunately.

 

Assuming these were people who were way out there thinking, meh I’ll never get checked out here.

[mad scientist 140]

On 3/30/2018 at 11:04 AM, smokerscully1 said:

Cost of enforcement has nothing to do with liscense fee income. Fishing liscense income goes to general fund not dedicated in any way to MNRF budget.

 

Actually, 100% of all fishing and hunting licence fees, fines and royalties in Ontario are deposited into a Special Purpose Account, rather than General Revenue.  The Fish and Wildlife SPA funds are re-invested in the management of fish and wildlife in the province, including enforcement.

 

MNRF periodically produces a report on the F&W SPA that shows how the money is spent.  The most recent one is here:

 

https://files.ontario.ca/spa_annual_report_final_05_17_final-adoa_done_1.pdf

 

[smokerscully1 16]

I stand corrected!!

Thank You Mad Scientist for the Link. It seems there is a Special Account for Liscense Money-at least since 2015.

 

Halaluja a political promise made in 1979 has been fulfilled--will wonders never cease?

[mad scientist 140]

49 minutes ago, smokerscully1 said:

I stand corrected!!

Thank You Mad Scientist for the Link. It seems there is a Special Account for Liscense Money-at least since 2015.

 

Halaluja a political promise made in 1979 has been fulfilled--will wonders never cease?

 

You're welcome!  Not sure about the 1979 political promise, but according to the report the Special Purpose Account was established in 1995.

[Foozer 194]

The special purpose account has been allegedly used to house some of Wynne's house guests in some apartment buildings.

 

A bill raised by the Conservatives was quickly put to bed.

 

So who really knows how much goes in and where the hell it's going......

[arvey 154]

If you want to know were the money is going go to the MNR site and under the good the bad the ugly you'll find a story there. It refers to an mpp Jeff Yurick who brought forward a private members bill to tighten up the spending of hunting and fishing fees, of coarse it was turned down. It also talks about were some of the money was spent. The money that is suppose to go into a special account and does generates 75 million annually.  

[Bobber Down 921]

5 hours ago, arvey said:

If you want to know were the money is going go to the MNR site and under the good the bad the ugly you'll find a story there. It refers to an mpp Jeff Yurick who brought forward a private members bill to tighten up the spending of hunting and fishing fees, of coarse it was turned down. It also talks about were some of the money was spent. The money that is suppose to go into a special account and does generates 75 million annually.  

 

http://mnrwatch.com/

[Deckmonkey 0]

On ‎2018‎-‎03‎-‎30 at 12:29 PM, dunnhuntin said:

16 charges and 21 warnings is A LOT for 45 anglers! Sounds like the helicopter helped get them to the right places. Patrols that get a lot of attention like that are a good deterrent as well. Makes people think twice before breaking the law if they think a helicopter might give you a visit later!

It sounds like a lot but it doesn't mean much without some context. I'm assuming the same guy probably got failing to have proof of insurance, riding without insurance and no helmet. Those are not great but not really fishing offences. Same for open liquor. It could have been a handful of people charged or less. Usually if someone is breaking one law, they are breaking more.

 

I agree with enforcement to protect our resources but sometimes it is a little stupid. When I lived in Kenora, the COs showed up at one the main ice fishing spots on New Year's Day and wrote a ton of tickets for not having a valid licence. A warning wasn't good enough when their licence was expired for 12 hours. I've seen them make an old guy dump his beer out while he was sitting in a chair fishing from shore at Hurkett. I guess we need a medical card to have a beer now.

[levi64 72]

Honest fishermen have nothing to worry about and I personally have no issues with the MNR using a chopper, they can see alot of stuff before they even land, pretty good surprise to some people im sure. They can cover alot more area and check more people and they have proved they are catching people in the wrong. As far as dollars, I really don't care anymore, the Ontario government is in the billions of dollars in debt (312 billion last year) and still screaming downwards, we are not comming out of this for about 4 generations, at least i can see the chopper and CO's doing something worth while.

[Blackfootbaits 53]

Wait until they start using  drones , if they aren't already.