Customs- No Hassle Fishing/

[wvfisherman]

-hassle fishing on international waters

Report only if you land in Canada

April 6, 2008

 

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U.S. anglers who take boats into Canadian waters don't have to report to customs officers upon returning to the United States if they do not make a landfall in Canada, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said this past week.

 

 

"There has been some confusion about this," said Michael Balero, a Customs and Border Protection spokesman. "Nothing has really changed. (Boaters) do not have to report unless they land at a Canadian port."

 

So here are the rules, as they were told to me by Balero:

 

• If you go into Canadian waters to fish, and you don't land in Canada or tie up to the Canadian shore, you don't have to report to U.S. authorities when you come back to the U.S. side.

 

• If you are fishing in Canadian waters, you are allowed to anchor. Anchoring offshore does not constitute "a call at a foreign port or place," the importance of which will become clear in a minute.

 

• You do not need to have a passport to return from a fishing trip on Canadian waters.

 

The confusion began a couple of weeks ago when Ohio charter boat captains were told by Customs and Border Protection officials in Cleveland that the rules had changed and pleasure boaters and anglers would have to report to customs if they motored into the Canadian waters of Lake Erie on fishing trips.

 

Even if they merely entered Ontario Canadian waters and returned without touching land, the captains were told they and their customers would have to carry passports or other approved government IDs and either report in person or telephone from an authorized government reporting station at a marina.

 

In addition, the skipper and crew of the boats were told that they would be required to fill out paperwork and learn new rules before the season, and charter captains would also have to fax in daily lists of their customers, including personal information like citizenship and birthdates.

 

This is a big deal in the Ohio and Michigan waters of the Great