An undercover investigation by the Ministry of Environment to stop an illegal fish trafficking ring in northern Saskatchewan has netted 15 charges under Saskatchewan’s Outfitter and Guide Regulations and The Fisheries Act and Regulations, and more than $50,000 in fines.
The charges were laid by the ministry after information was received in 2011 relating to illegal outfitting and the abuse of walleye stocks in the Buffalo Narrows area. The abuse was occurring on a large scale and had the potential to affect the local walleye population.
Undercover officers determined that illegal outfitting was taking place without an outfitters’ licence. The officers were also approached by subsistence fishermen who sold fish to them illegally.
In May 2014, the first of four men charged in connection with the case – Leon Morin of Buffalo Narrows – was convicted of four counts of unlawful marketing of fish caught by both commercial fishing and subsistence fishing, and fined a total of $19,360. He was also handed a two year commercial fishing licence prohibition and a two year probation during which time he cannot aid or assist anyone who is commercial fishing.
Richard Hansen of Buffalo Narrows was convicted of one count of unlawful outfitting, two counts of unlawful marketing of fish caught by subsistence fishing, one count of providing subsistence fish to someone other than a family member, and one count of unlawfully setting a gill net. He was fined a total of $18,510.
Fish may be purchased for personal consumption from a licensed commercial fisher or a fish dealer. By law, vendors have to provide a receipt that includes the seller’s name, address and licence number, the water body where the fish were caught, the fish species and the form in which it was purchased (e.g. round, dressed or filleted), the quantity and sale price of the fish and the date of purchase.
Anyone approached to buy fish who believes the sale is not legal is encouraged to contact the nearest Ministry of Environment office, the province’s toll-free Turn In Poachers (TIP) hotline at 1-800-667-7561 or #5555 for SaskTel cell phone subscribers, or report a violation online at www.saskatchewan.ca/conservation. Callers may be eligible for cash rewards through the SaskTip Reward Program.
