CHECK OF NIAGARA AND HALDIMAND FISHING AREAS FINDS MOST ANGLERS OBEYING THE RULES

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CHECK OF NIAGARA AND HALDIMAND FISHING AREAS FINDS MOST ANGLERS OBEYING THE RULES

 

www.ocoa.ca

 

 

Most of the anglers checked during a recent enforcement blitz of local fishing hot spots in the Niagara Region and Haldimand County were obeying Ontario's fishing regulations.

 

Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officers conducted a plain-clothes enforcement operation over two weekends between Friday, July 11, and Sunday, July 20, 2008.

 

A team of conservation officers from the Guelph, Aylmer, Aurora, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario offices of the ministry converged on many of the popular fishing areas in the Niagara Region and Haldimand County. Officers were working with information received in 2007 from the TIPS toll-free line and information gathered locally.

 

The conservation officers contacted 430 people during the blitz. A total of 57 charges and 21 warnings were issued for offences related to fishing, including:

 

exceeding the daily catch limit for bass (daily limit is six and daily conservation limit is two)

possession and use of gobies as bait

 

- fishing without a licence

- fishing with more than one line

- failure to produce a fishing licence

- trespassing on property for the purpose of fishing

- possession of open liquor.

 

The set fines imposed for these offences totalled $9,985.00

 

For more information on fishing regulations, please consult the 2008-2009 Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary available from licence issuers, ServiceOntario/Government Information Centres, and on the ministry's website at ontario.ca/fishing.

 

To report a natural resources violation, call 1-877-TIPS-MNR (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).