These fillets were seized from the anglers and later donated to Scattered Site Outreach Program. (Government of Saskatchewan/Facebook)

By Derek Cornet

fish fines

Utah anglers net more than $6,000 in fines after overfishing

Jun 25, 2019 | 11:31 AM

Eight Utah anglers are on the hook for more than $6,000 in fines after conservation officers confiscated 51 walleye at a float plane base in La Ronge.

That’s according to the Ministry of Environment, which stated the find occurred during a recent widescale patrol on Father’s Day weekend. Conservation officers in the La Ronge area, checked more than 500 anglers using boat patrols, vehicle stops, dock checks and fly-out float plane patrols. While the tourists from Utah did receive fines, they were not banned from fishing.

“The anglers were not arrested. The individuals were co-operative throughout the compliance check,” the Ministry of Environment told larongeNOW in an email. “The individuals had been fishing at an outpost camp of an outfitter on Reindeer Lake. The individuals had fished on both Reilly and Reindeer Lakes.”

The walleye confiscated by officers was donated to the Scattered Site Outreach Program in La Ronge, which provides services such as a lunch program for homeless clients. Outreach worker Jeanne Langhorne said it was a bonus for them to receive the fillets, noting they plan on making as many meals as they can out of the fish. Since there are 51 fillets and the program usually feeds that many people each day, she mentioned they will be used to augment regular meals.

While it doesn’t happen regularly, Scattered Site receives similar donations once or twice per year at the conclusion of court cases. Those donations always come in frozen, however, and the walleye came in fresh.

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“It’s amazing, actually, what people think they can get away with and think nobody will notice they overfished or were hunting in the dark,” Langhorne said. “They have to follow the rules of the land. They can’t come in here and think they can do what they want to.”

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno