Ottawa man nets $10,000 fine for illegal walleye haul in northern Ontario

In this Sept. 17, 2003 file photo, a walleye is shown during a fishing trip in Lake Erie near Marblehead,Ohio. (AP Photo/Daniel Miller, File)

An Ottawa fisherman has been fined $10,000 for catching ten times the allowable amount of walleye while fishing in northern Ontario.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry says a Thunder Bay court heard that in June 2021, conservation officers received information that a group of individuals at a remote fly-in-fishing camp on Whitewater Lake, north of Armstrong, Ont., were in possession of several bags of fish, potentially over the allowable limit.

"Conservation officers stopped a vehicle near Thunder Bay and discovered a cooler containing eight bags of frozen, skinless fish and one large northern pike," the ministry said, adding the accused admitted to being responsible for possessing all the fish.

"Once thawed, the bags contained 140 pieces of fish, totalling 40 walleye and five northern pike putting him over his allowable limit of four walleye and four northern pike."

The man pleaded guilty in court last month to possession of fish over the legal limit and possession of fish "packed in a manner that could not easily be counted."

He was fined $10,000, and is prohibited from possessing an Ontario fishing licence and engaging in any fishing activities in Ontario for one year.