Just read this in the Brockville Recorder and Times and thought I would pass in on. Not a problem now but remember this for the spring crappie and bullhead fish
watergut
MNR sees no probems with night fishing ban
By NICK GARDINER
Staff Writer
KEMPTVILLE -- The local enforcement supervisor with the Ministry of Natural Resources doesn't expect a challenge to an overnight fishing ban on Leeds and Grenville county roads approved Wednesday by United Counties council.
Steve Aubry told The Recorder and Times Thursday that the Municipal Act provides the jurisdiction for municipalities to enact their own bylaws and he would expect the counties did their homework before passing the dusk-to-dawn ban to address a problem with overnight poaching.
"I'm assuming they would have legal counsel (about their jurisdiction), but the MNR has no role in enacting municipal bylaws or enforcing them," said Aubry.
Council approved the countywide ban after receiving a request to support a similar bylaw in the village of Westport, which has been cited as part of an Ontario Human Rights Commission inquiry into attacks against Asian anglers locally and near Lake Simcoe last summer.
At Westport, a 73-year-old man was beaten unconscious and his son was thrown off a bridge. No charges have been laid in the case.
Local anglers have complained for years about poachers overfishing near Rideau Canal lockstations and off bridges, but the MNR hasn't been able to address the problem because of a lack of resources, said Westport Mayor Bill Thake in an interview following Wednesday's meeting.
He said the bylaw allows complainants to contact the OPP who can now charge night-time anglers with trespassing.
Aubry said he wouldn't comment about questions of ministry underfunding by the provincial government raised by Thake or Ontario auditor general Jim McCarter in a scathing report issued Tuesday.
However, he disagreed with the contention MNR officers work mostly day-shift hours. He said there are busy times when poaching is a problem and officers expect to work overnight and weekends.
"It would be a stretch to say we work nine-to-five. We schedule our officers as best we can to make maximum impact."
The Kemptville office employs 12 officers covering a jurisdiction that includes the City of Ottawa and eight counties from the Quebec border to Leeds and Lanark, said Aubry.
"We rely heavily on past experiences as well as complaints we receive from the public to determine scheduling."
Counties engineer Les Shepherd said the night-time fishing ban falls under the Municipal Statute Law Amendment Act of 2006, which grants municipalities "broad powers" to enact bylaws for health, safety and well-being of its residents.
In the case of the night-time ban, the safety of anglers is a prime consideration, he said.
"It's a safety issue in Westport for certain," said Shepherd, referring to narrow bridges on county roads 10 and 36 where night-time fishing is popular. At Jones Falls and Chaffey's Lock, fishing at night is also dangerous, he said.
"It's a major safety issue if people stand on the road in the dark. Also people are climbing under the bridge at Jones Falls and that's dangerous."
Shepherd said he hasn't spoken with the OPP about the bylaw, but he doesn't expect it will add tremendously to their workload.
"After a couple of incidents, people will understand and they'll go away."
If anglers attempt to move to private property, residents should call police to report trespassing, he said.
United Counties chief administrative officer Steve Silver said the Highway Traffic Act also applies in the case of this legislation. The act allows municipalities to restrict parking and prohibit people from jumping off bridges and structures over water, for instance, said Silver.
Published in Section A, page 3 in the Friday, December 14, 2007 edition of the Brockville Recorder & Times.
Posted 4:31:20 PM Friday, December 14, 2007.
