BUFFALO NARROWS, Sask. – An undercover operation by Saskatchewan conservation officers has resulted in over $50,000 in fines for four men. Officers launched the investigation in 2011 after a complaint was made about illegal outfitting and the abuse of walleye stock in the Buffalo Narrows region.

The undercover officers discovered illegal outfitting was taking place without a licence.

The abuse was found to be on such a large scale that it had the potential to affect the local walleye population.

“Left unchecked, entire fish populations can be decimated such as what happened to walleye populations at Big Peter Pond Lake several years ago,” said Ken Aube, an enforcement director with the Ministry of Environment.

“This impacts sport anglers, subsistence fishermen and commercial fishermen, who rely on the lake fishery to make a living.”

During their investigation, officers were also approached by subsistence fishermen who illegally sold fish to them.

Officers laid a total of 15 charges against four men under The Fisheries Act and Regulations.

The first of the four men pleaded guilty to four charges in May 2014. Leon Morin, from Buffalo Narrows, received fines totalling $19,360, a two-year commercial fishing licence ban and is also prohibited from helping anyone who is commercial fishing for two years.

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The other three were recently found guilty in Buffalo Narrows provincial court on the remaining charges.

Richard Hansen, from Buffalo Narrows, was convicted of unlawful outfitting, unlawful marketing of fish caught by subsistence fishing, providing subsistence fish to someone other than a family member and unlawfully setting a gill net. He was fined $18,510.

Maurice Billette, from Dillion, was fined $11,200 for unlawfully marketing fish caught by subsistence fishing.

Danny Billette, also from Dillion, was handed a $1,750 fine for unlawfully marketing fish caught by subsistence fishing.

Ministry of Environment officials say fish can be purchased for personal consumption only from a licensed commercial fisherman or a fish dealer. When buying fish this way, vendors are required to provide a receipt that includes the following:

seller’s name, address, and licence number;

the body of water where the fish were caught;

the fish species;

the form it was purchased;

quantity; and

sale price and date.

Officials say anyone who is approached to buy fish and believes the sale is illegal should contact their nearest Ministry of Environment office, the province’s turn in poachers (TIP) hotline at 1-800-667-7561 or online.