Navigation warning LPB

[HTHM]

This is a frustrating thing to read.

 

http://www.simcoereformer.ca/2014/04/20/fishing-huts-pose-navigation-hazard

 

T. WILLIAMS - Boaters on Long Point Bay are advised to exercise caution when they venture onto the lake.

The Ministry of Natural Resources requires ice anglers to remove their huts by March 15. The vast majority comply. However, there are always a few who abandon their make-shift shelters to the elements.

Retired OPP officer Eric DeSerranno, of St. Williams, says the abandonment rate this spring is way up. Even worse, no one seems interested in taking charge of the problem.

With an unknown number of huts floating on the surface or just below, DeSerranno says boaters and jet skiiers face a serious navigation hazard. The debris will also likely damage commercial fishing nets.

“I know a buddy who bought a brand new boat who hit one of those huts floating a foot beneath the surface,” DeSerranno said. “It broke his prop. For the first three weeks, I’m very cautious on the lake. You can see debris sticking out of the water.”

DeSerranno has alerted the MNR in Aylmer but has been told there is nothing the ministry can do. DeSerranno finds that hard to believe, especially considering that the ministry collects millions of dollars a year from fishing licence revenue.

“Someone has to be responsible for taking those things out,” DeSerranno said. “I mean, where does all that fishing money go?”

Part of the problem is the MNR has no way of identifying the owners of abandoned huts. Hut owners are required to display an identifying number on their structures. However, these can be painted on a plank and removed at any time.

“MNR does not remove ice huts which have been left on the ice due to staff safety and liability concerns,” says Jolanta Kowalski, spokesperson for the MNR. “MNR does enforce regulations dealing with ice huts when ownership can be determined. MNR is working with local groups to try and deter individuals from leaving ice huts on the ice past their removal dates. MNR would like to hear from the public if they have any information concerning the ownership of ice huts which have been left on the ice.”

Hut abandonment is a serious problem each spring after a good freeze-up on the lake. Huts can sit for months at a stretch, during which they sink into the ice and freeze in place. Extricating them prior to the deadline can be a chore.

If huts are stuck in the ice, DeSerranno said authorities should at least torch problem structures. It’s not an ideal solution, he said, but at least the huts won’t be left to drift as a potentially fatal hazard for unsuspecting boaters and jet skiiers.

Anyone with information on anglers who have abandoned their huts on Long Point Bay is encouraged to contact the MNR at 1-877-847-7667.

[Gnote]

Out of curiosity, would it be legal to remove a hut that wasnt yours if it is left out past the deadline?

Be it to burn it or keep it or dump it or put it outside a boat launch?

My buddy wanted to get rid of a portable that was destroyed after being left out all winter and was frozen a foot in but was concerned about the legality of doing so. This was a week or two after the removal date.

Neither one of us wants to lose a prop on some idiots garbage

[kickingfrog]

They were talking about this on Simcoe a few weeks ago. There was a little tid bit of info that was mentioned that made me want to pull out what's left of my hair.

 

They said that even with all the registration numbers removed and the hut on the ice after the removal date they still were powerless to remove the abandoned hut because it was/is considered private property and until it became a navigation hazard they could not do anything about them.

[mike rousseau]

Just get some locals and some gas next year and light em up.... Lol

[Gnote]

I was just typing that lol

[Gnote]

Defintely the redneck way to fix a problem the guvmint wont/cant. Hahaha

[kickingfrog]

And some lowlife then tries to sue you for destruction of private property.

[Sinker]

They have to catch you to sue you....

 

Gas + match = problem solved

 

S.

[wormdunker]

I favor the red neck version of removing unwanted huts! Sinker's math equation makes sense!

[BillM]

Just get some locals and some gas next year and light em up.... Lol

 

Then you'll get charged for having a fire on the ice, lol!!

 

I think there should be a 2 week grace period after the dead line then the MNR goes out (or whoever) and does whatever they've gotta do to get them off the ice.

Edited April 22, 2014 by BillM

[quickme]

if the huts are left after the deadline they should be fair game! It wouldn't make sense for a good Samaritan wanting to take the hut off the ice to avoid injury be charged for theft or damaging private property.

[Sinker]

if the huts are left after the deadline they should be fair game! It wouldn't make sense for a good Samaritan wanting to take the hut off the ice to avoid injury be charged for theft or damaging private property.

It would never happen.....being charged I mean. Ever....

 

S.

[The Urban Fisherman]

My parents are renting a cottage overlooking the bay near St. Williams while they build their house and the people who they're renting from said they watched a few huts go down this spring... My first year out in the boat in March I smoked a sunken hut going full tilt and learned the hard way.... the problem is that the huts are only in 4-8 FOW so even when they're sitting on bottom you're still going to hit it... Now when I'm in any areas that are prone to having lots of huts in the winter I take it easy.

[Steve]

this activity is what is going to make leaving huts overnight illegal.

 

it'll be portable huts only....

 

all it is going to take is someone getting truly hurt from a sunken or floating hut then that'll be it.

[DanD]

If a picture of the hut were required to register the thing; that would go a long way, in getting people to make sure it was off the ice in time.

 

Dan.

[Rod Caster]

If no one 'claims' their hut, wouldn't it then be public property as it's on a public waterway... kind of like a cached canoe on crown land. What I'm getting at is, the day after the deadline, you should be allowed to claim whatever hut suits your fancy and the owner would have forfeited their ownership.

[jedimaster]

On muskoka they used to drag the huts to the beach and if you didn't claim it within a week you got a fine. That was a long time ago though.