Pair warn anglers of Canadian crackdown

Catch confiscated, tickets issued at border for illegal transportation of fish

Thursday, July 03, 2003

A group of Flint-area anglers are warning others who travel to Canada to be careful when they return with their fish.

Two area residents said their party of 11 was stopped at the border in Sarnia on their return in late May, and five of them were ticketed for the way they were transporting their bluegills. They said Ontario conservation officers confiscated the fish and the coolers they were in.

They were ticketed for the illegal transportation and/or possession of fish. Michigan has a similar law that requires anglers to transport fish in such a manner that they can be easily counted and identified by species.

Mike Winchester of Flint and Larry Campbell of Flint Township say they are going to demand a trial on the charges. A guilty verdict would result in fines and costs of $255 (Canadian).

Campbell said four of the five anglers will contest the tickets, while the fifth has decided to plead guilty and pay the fine. Campbell said he intends to hire a Canadian attorney.

Winchester is financial secretary of UAW Local 651, and Campbell is a retired Delphi Corp. employee.

The two said their party has gone to Rice Lake in northern Ontario for years and had never had a problem with bringing their catch across the border.

When they returned in late May, they were stopped at the border after telling officials they had been fishing. Their vehicles and boats were searched by more than a dozen conservation officers, they said.

The five were ticketed because they had frozen fish in plastic storage bags, making them difficult to identify. The officers said Ontario law requires that the fish be clearly visible so they can be identified by species, the men said.

Winchester said three of his 10 bags apparently had been knocked over in the storage freezer, and the ice was thicker on one side than the other, making it difficult to see the fish inside. All 10 bags were confiscated by the conservation officers even though the fish were clearly visible in seven of the bags, he said.

"They wouldn't allow me to bust open the bag to prove my innocence," Winchester said. "They were really nasty and petty. Then they confiscated all my fish, beyond those in question.

"I wasn't impressed with their arrogant attitude. I think (the officers) wanted to have a fish fry."

Winchester, who is black, said he and his friends at first thought their treatment might be racially motivated, but discounted that possibility when an elderly white man said he had just undergone the same treatment and was ticketed for the same reason.

Both Winchester and Campbell said they also are disturbed that some members of their party were treated differently than others.

Five got tickets, while others got warnings. Some of the officers were rude and difficult, they said, while others were polite and cooperative.

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