A man from Wheatley is facing a stiff fine due to illegal fishing practices.
The Ontario Court of Justice heard that between July 28 and August 18, 2023, that the man, who is the captain of the commercial fishing boat Teresa Maria, was fishing out of Port Stanley.
During that time, the man had fished on multiple days and failed to record the activity in his log book, as well as inaccurately reported the location of his gill nets within Lake Erie.
The captain was found guilty in January 2025 and was fined $11,000. He also received a court order requiring him to use the commercial fishing boats with a monitored GPS.
The commercial licence holder - a company in Leamington - also pled guilty in December 2024 to being a party to the offence and was fined $2,500.
Commercial fishing activities on Lake Erie are regulated by commercial fishing licences which are issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources with set conditions to ensure the sustainability of the Lake Erie fishery.