Two Pennsylvania men have been fined a total of $3,000 for offences under the Ontario Fishery Regulations.
Raymond Sykola of Fairview and Cassidy Sykola of Sharpsville pleaded guilty and were each fined $1,000 for possessing more bass than permitted by their sport fishing licence and $500 for possessing fish that had been skinned so that the species could not be easily identified. Both men also received a one-year fishing licence suspension. In addition to these fines, the fish were seized and permanently forfeited to the Crown.
Court heard that on July 7, 2018, conservation officers from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry were conducting a border check in the area of Hill Island, Leeds and Thousand Islands Township, Leeds County. Conservation officers contacted Raymond Sykola and Cassidy Sykola during the check and located a cooler containing 11 plastic bags of frozen, skinless fish fillets that were not easily identifiable or countable. Further investigation determined that the two men were in possession of a combination of 32 largemouth and smallmouth bass and 13 unidentifiable filleted fish. Both men were over the legal possession limit by 10 bass.
Justice of the Peace Sylvia Clermont heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Brockville, on September 19, 2018.
For further information on fishing regulations, please consult the Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary, available at ontario.ca/fishing.
To report a natural resources violation, call the ministry’s TIPS line at 1-877-847-7667 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). And visit Ontario.ca/mnrftips to view an interactive, searchable map of unsolved cases. You may be able to provide information that will help solve a case.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
