Four Barrie residents have been fined for illegal fishing practices.
Conservation officers were conducting angler inspections in Clarington in the early hours of Sept. 15, 2023, when four men were seen in and around the water below the Bowmanville Dam.
“The four were trespassing to fish while using techniques other than angling to fish and were all in possession of multiple illegally caught salmon. In total, six salmon, a spear, a large dip net and fishing rods with large treble hooks attached were seized,” the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry stated in a news release.
Basil Mathew pleaded guilty to possessing a spear within 30 metres of the water’s edge, trespassing for the purpose of fishing and fishing by means other than angling. He was fined $3,250 and suspended from fishing for one year.
Emil Eldhose, Denny Varughese and Vishnu Viruthy-Mohanan pleaded guilty to trespassing for the purpose of fishing and fishing by means other than angling. Each was fined $2,000 and suspended from fishing for one year.
The case was heard in the Ontario Court of Justice in Whitby on March 6.
