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Egg Chumming: Legal or Not?

Regarding Chumming Eggs

A while ago, the Ontario Steelheaders introduced a new program for all to use titled “Ask The Game Warden.”

EggsA question has been put forward to the Ministry of Natural Resource and Forestry and an appropriate response has been received – legal or not to Thank you for your inquiry regarding the use of roe as chum, initially posed to Conservation Officer Hart Hill, Owen Sound Area  in October.  Seeing as this inquiry relates to fisheries policy, your question was forwarded to me and I’m pleased to respond.

Under the Ontario Fishery Regulations 2007 (section 28),  (http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2007-237/FullText.html) individuals are prohibited from emptying  bait, live baitfish or other contents of a bait bucket or other movable container into or within 30m of any waters.  Given that the roe has been transported in a container of some sort it would be unlawful under this provision to dump it into the water for use as chum.

These regulations are in place to reduce the introduction and establishment of invasive species or pathogens that can be transported with bait following misidentification or as a fellow-traveller in bait buckets.

Thank you again for your inquiry.

Matt Garvin
Fisheries Program Biologist
Fisheries Policy Section
Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry

If you have a question to submit to our Ask the Warden series, please Contact Us

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Working Together

Here is a letter I received from the MNR:

Hello Al,

Your Fall-Winter 2012 Journal was sent to me because of its enforcement content, but of course I couldn’t stop there – a very interesting and informative read.

My first comment is to thank you for your support of MNR’s field Conservation Officers. It’s the public’s participation through our TIPS-MNR violation reporting line that keeps our officers effective. Given Ontario Steelheaders obvious support for our enforcement work I would like to connect your group with another Ontario volunteer organization that provides tremendous support to us by focusing attention on specific illegal activity and then sharing the resulting information with us – information that leads to many successful convictions. The network of Crime Stoppers programs in Ontario has been an active supporter of MNR enforcement since 1991.

You will no doubt have noticed their “Unlawful sale of trout and salmon roe” ad in the 2012 Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary. That ad, which was collaboration between Crime Stoppers and Trout Unlimited Canada, placed a spotlight on an important issue of concern to all law abiding anglers – the illegal sale of our fishery resource.

As the MNR Enforcement Branch representative to the Ontario Association of Crime Stoppers I would be happy to put you in contact with a member of the OACS executive to discuss running the ad in you next Journal edition – the timing couldn’t be better!

Regards, Mark Robbins Provincial Enforcement Specialist Enforcement Branch Ministry of Natural Resources