Possession Question

[brandon]

Hey Everyone. I had a question that popped in my head earlier this morning and I was wondering what your thoughts on it were. When a fish is kept as a pet in an aquarium it counts towards your possession limit....right? Now lets use bass as an example.....You catch a bass during the legal season and decide its small enough to fit in your aquarium back home and you decide to keep it as a pet.....what happens when the season closes? if the fish is not returned does this make you in possession of an out of season fish? Just wondering what everyone else thinks about this.

 

Brandon

[Roy]

OK, let's say your pet bass has a name. Let's use Harold as an example. Harold could become supper just before the season closes. Then, at the start of a new season, you get yourself a replacement for Harold. This time you get yourself a female...for argument's sake, let's call her Brittany. You can spend the whole season watching Brittany in the aquarium then when the season is about to close, you eat Brittany.......and it continues.....

 

 

I have NO idea, Brandon.

[brandon]

lol but say there was some way to prove it was the same fish?? i dunno....just random thoughts on a boring Sunday

Edited April 8, 2007 by brandon

[Fishmaster]

you are not aloud to transport fish live ...so i would say against the law to have in your tank ..unless bought from a fish farm ..

[Roy]

It's not a stupid question at all, Brandon. I just have no idea....

[taper]

As fishmaster said you are not allowed to transport live fish and I also thought it was illegal to keep Ontario game fish in an aquarium. What ever you do do not return a captive fish to the wild I read some where you can introduce viruses from your aquarium fish this way.

[Sinker]

I can have fish in my freezer that are out of season, as long as they were harvested during the open season.

 

For example, I go fishing on the last day of walleye seaon, catch my limit, bring them home and freeze them. The next day, when season closes, I can't be charged with being in possession of out of season fish........can I? ....works for wild game as well......I have some birds in the freezer now......I don't think I'll be charged because season is closed.

 

I'd assume since the bass is in your possession and harvested during open season, you'd be fine.

 

First of all the authority would need a warrant, or exigent circumstances to enter your dwelling to find this bass, and I really don't think they'd waste thier time with a fish in an aquarium. The judge would laugh at that one for sure.......

 

Not quite a straight yes/now asnwer , but I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Sinker

[brandon]

I should just point out I don't have gamefish as pets nor think its a good idea. I'm just questioning what would happen in this situation however it seems like its just one of those laws we see so often with lots of gray areas

[Fishmaster]

Like i said its not legal to Transport live fish ....i no a guy that got busted with perch in his livewell coming home from lake simcoe last year with live perch ....all fish must be in season and in no water when being transported ...

[fliptheslop]

Its not a gray area at all, YOU CAN NOT TRANSPORT LIVE FISH IN ONT. without a licence to do so, cant take it home cant take it to another lake, cant even take it to lunch unless its DEAD

[brandon]

no need to yell Flip.....thx for clearing that up guys

[easton13th]

As for a warrant I don't believe the Ministry needs a warrant to search or seize property. Even your dwelling. I don't think it would be anywhere near reasonable to do this.

[Fishmaster]

Your Right Easton Now Warrants Needed from the MNR ..if they wana search you home truck boat car tent they are allowed ..

[fliptheslop]

no yelling just highliting

[foggy]

Like i said its not legal to Transport live fish ....i no a guy that got busted with perch in his livewell coming home from lake simcoe last year with live perch ....all fish must be in season and in no water when being transported ...

 

 

damn! i bring fish home in a cooler with a little water all the time, i better read the rules,,,,i yearn for the simple days, too bad they're gone

Edited April 8, 2007 by foggy

[Fisherman]

I can have fish in my freezer that are out of season, as long as they were harvested during the open season.

 

For example, I go fishing on the last day of walleye seaon, catch my limit, bring them home and freeze them. The next day, when season closes, I can't be charged with being in possession of out of season fish........can I? ....works for wild game as well......I have some birds in the freezer now......I don't think I'll be charged because season is closed.

 

I'd assume since the bass is in your possession and harvested during open season, you'd be fine.

 

First of all the authority would need a warrant, or exigent circumstances to enter your dwelling to find this bass, and I really don't think they'd waste thier time with a fish in an aquarium. The judge would laugh at that one for sure.......

 

Not quite a straight yes/now asnwer , but I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Sinker

Kinda difficult for live fish to swim around in your freezer eh?

[Guest skeeter99]

soooooooooo

 

 

i just thought of this

 

i know you cannot transport live fish

 

but!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

having a livewell lets say for a tournament you are catching your limit and transporting them around, same a fun fishing

 

sooooooooooooo

 

i guess we have to kill it befors we put it in the nice cool oxygenated water so we dont get charged with transporting fish?

 

just a question

 

but I think more a interpetation of rule

[brandon]

good point skeeter.....a lot of tournament weigh-ins are located in a different location than the launch.

[Guest skeeter99]

here is another one

 

 

tournament when u are allowed to use the locks u are transporting fish from another body of water?

 

i have been in several tournaments were u were allowed to use the locks and we suck the fish out of the one lake and the weigh in is in the lake that none of us fished

 

below are clearly distinct bodies of water were u transport live fish from one body of water to another

 

 

couch to simcoe?

tri lakes?

rosseau to joseph?

lake nipissing into the french river?

lake ontario to the bay of quinte?

baptiste to elephant?

 

some many too many to type

[Sinker]

Kinda difficult for live fish to swim around in your freezer eh?

 

Live or dead its still possession of an out of season fish............what was the question again??

 

Its gone from possesion to transport.........different laws there.

 

A CO DOES need a warrant to search a dwelling. Unless there is exigent circumstances..........look it up in the FWCA....under search........its all available on e-laws.

 

Sinker

[POLLIWOGG]

If you have Harold in your tank you cannot catch him in a net, you cannot grab him by hand, you cannot annoy Harold at all when he is out off season but but you can catch him with a hook and line when he's in season. That means you can only clean the tank when Harold is in season. Now if Harold gets smart and won't bite anymore you may have one stinky aquarium and might want to toss him in a lake but you can't legally catch him so you have to take the tank and only when he's in season and that might not be legal as you didn't catch him angling so you might not be able to legally get rid of him.

 

AS Harold has more rights than you do in your own home he may end up claiming sanctuary and evicting you.

[easton13th]

I guess the warrant issue is as clear as mud. I read the Laws as stated in e-laws.

 

1.A conservation officer may obtain a search warrant under Part VIII of the Provincial Offences Act .

 

2.If a conservation officer believes on reasonable grounds that there is in a building or other place any thing that will afford evidence of an offence under this Act but that the time required to obtain a search warrant would lead to the loss, removal or destruction of the evidence, the conservation officer may, without a search warrant, enter and search the building or other place.

 

3.A conservation officer who is lawfully in a building or other place may, without a warrant, seize any thing that he or she believes on reasonable grounds,

 

(a) has been obtained by the commission of an offence under this Act;

 

( has been used in the commission of an offence under this Act;

 

© will afford evidence of the commission of an offence under this Act; or

 

(d) is intermixed with a thing referred to in clause (a), ( or ©.

 

4. ( that entry to the dwelling has been refused or there are reasonable grounds to believe that entry will be refused.

 

I guess YES they need a warrant BUT if they believe they need one they would have had it already...

and if they don't have it already their arses are covered......so I guess in the long and short of it they don't really need one.

[Fisherman]

Live or dead its still possession of an out of season fish............what was the question again??

 

Its gone from possesion to transport.........different laws there.

 

A CO DOES need a warrant to search a dwelling. Unless there is exigent circumstances..........look it up in the FWCA....under search........its all available on e-laws.

 

Sinker

How about going back to the original question, nothing to do with out of season, TRANSPORT OF LIVE FISH, legal or not?

[setomonkey]

Sounds like a lot of unnecessary confusion & debate to me.

 

Avoid the hassle and leave the bass in the lake, or kill it and eat it.

 

Mike

[Sinker]

How about going back to the original question, nothing to do with out of season, TRANSPORT OF LIVE FISH, legal or not?

 

Not legal.

 

The question was pertaining to possession tho....... ......its right in the title!

 

Easton,

 

2.If a conservation officer believes on reasonable grounds that there is in a building or other place any thing that will afford evidence of an offence under this Act but that the time required to obtain a search warrant would lead to the loss, removal or destruction of the evidence, the conservation officer may, without a search warrant, enter and search the building or other place.

 

In other words, exigent circumstances. Key words are in bold to the definition of exigent. Also, check under search of a Dwelling......that may be different again, but I'm not positive in the FWCA. Need to see the definition of a dwelling first I guess. I don't have the time to check it out right now, but it will be in there.

 

They can't just come to your door and expect you to let them in for a search without a warrant for no reason. If someone has called and told them that you have 100 walleye in your freezer, then sure, they're coming in, no questions asked. That would be reasonable, and probable grounds.

 

I still say they don't give a rats ass whether you have a bass or any other kind of fish in your aquarium........you think they have time for something like that? I doubt it........

 

Sorry for getting off topic Brandon

 

Sinker

Edited April 8, 2007 by Sinker