Two people caught by the MNRF towing a sleigh full of illegal fish on Lake Nipissing have been fined a total of $6,000 for catching and keeping undersized walleye.
Viktor Soloviov and Anna Shimanovich, both of Thornhill, Ontario, pleaded guilty to possessing 24 undersized walleye. They were each fined $3,000 and are prohibited from fishing for two years by Justice of the Peace Ruby Beck, who heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice in North Bay on June 20.
Court heard that on February 19, a conservation officer was conducting a snowmobile patrol on Lake Nipissing when he stopped Soloviov and Shimanovich who were returning from fishing on an all-terrain vehicle. An inspection of the sleigh being towed behind the ATV revealed 24 undersized walleye amongst a larger quantity of fish. The fishing equipment and walleye were seized, and the fish were forfeited to the Crown.
The ministry reminds the public that it is illegal to catch and possess any walleye from Lake Nipissing that are less than 46 centimetres (18.1 inches) in length.
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.
