A commercial bait harvester from Foleyet has been fined a total of $2,230 for commercial baitfish violations.
George Theriault, operator of Air Ivanhoe Limited, pleaded guilty to violating six conditions of his commercial bait licence and was fined $1,730. He pleaded guilty and was fined an additional $500 for making a false statement in his 2011 Annual Return for Commercial Bait Harvesters.
Court heard that during a 2012 audit of commercial bait fishing activities, a conservation officer dete rmined that Theriault did not accurately document bait harvest information in his daily logbooks.
Though Theriault failed to produce one of the logbooks, the conservation officer was nonetheless able to identify several incidents between June and July 2012 where Theriault’s purchases of baitfish from another commercial bait dealer were unrecorded.
Justice of the Peace Sylvie-Emanuelle Bourbonnais heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Chapleau, on June 26, 2013.
To report a natural resources violation, call 1-877-TIPS-MNR (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).