Fish, wildlife fines total $4,250 in Muskoka

BRACEBRIDGE — Two people were fined a total of $4,250 in separate fish and wildlife cases this month.

Conservation officers charged two people with fish and wildlife offences.

A Muskoka area man has been fined $1,250 for a hunting violation under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act.

Milton Fisher, of Huntsville, pleaded guilty and was fined $1,250 for hunting an antlerless white-tailed deer without a licence. He also is prohibited from hunting big game for two years.

Court heard that on November 11, 2017, a conservation officer contacted Fisher on a private land bush-lot near the town of Huntsville.

Fisher was in the process of dragging an untagged antlerless white-tailed deer back to his friend’s hunt camp by ATV.

An investigation revealed that Fisher shot the deer earlier that morning, despite being licensed to hunt only antlered deer. The deer was forfeited to the Crown.

Justice of the Peace Linda Kay heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Bracebridge, on April 4, 2018.

Also April 4, Justice of the Peace Kay fined a Markham man for having an over-limit of fish.

Yu Xing Li pleaded guilty and was fined $3,000 for catching and retaining an over-limit of black crappie.

Court heard that on January 17, 2018, conservation officers with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry were conducting inspections of sport fish anglers in Georgian Bay to ensure compliance with the Ontario Fishery Regulations.

As part of these inspections, Li was observed angling through the ice. He had caught and retained 67 black crappie, 37 over the sport fish limit of 30. All the fish were seized.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry reminds anglers that fishing limits are in place to maintain a sustainable fishery so that anglers and other resource users can enjoy the resource in the future.

For further information on fishing regulations, please consult the Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary available at ontario.ca/fishing.

To report a natural resources violation, call the MNRF TIPS line at 1-877-847-7667 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). And visit Ontario.ca/mnrftips to view an interactive, searchable map of unsolved cases. You may be able to provide information that will help solve a case.