(Submitted photo/Ministry of Environment)

By CKOM News

FISH AND WILDLIFE

Beauval man fined for fishing, wildlife offences

Dec 14, 2021 | 10:25 AM

A three-year investigation has resulted in $14,500 in fines against a Beauval man after he pleaded guilty to a number of fisheries and wildlife charges.

Roger McCallum Jr., 36, was given three years to pay the fines. He also can’t apply for licences under The Fisheries Act for three years and was given a five-year prohibition for licences under The Wildlife Act.

The investigation started in 2018 after a tip about illegal fishing and trafficking in the Beauval area.

After officers confirmed McCallum was involved in trafficking large quantities of fish, undercover officers saw him throw a large number of edible fish into the landfill to waste.

“During the investigation, conservation officers also discovered that McCallum was trafficking in bear gall bladders,” the Ministry of Environment said in a media release. “On one occasion, he sold a bear gall to an undercover officer and then attempted to recruit the officer to sell bear gall bladders for him.”

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Officers also determined McCallum was offering guided fishing trips.

In September of 2019, they booked a trip with him to a lake that has an angling limit of three trout per person. During the trip, McCallum set two gill nets that caught a large number of lake trout. According to the ministry’s release, he gave the officers 29 fish, which he included in their guiding fee.

On Nov. 17 of this year, McCallum pleaded guilty to a number of charges. He was fined $7,600 for illegal marketing of fish, $2,800 for trafficking in bear galls, $1,400 for wasting fish, $1,400 for illegal outfitting, $1,050 for illegal provision of sustenance fish, and $250 for commercial fishing without a licence.

Anyone who suspects wildlife, fisheries, forestry or environmental violations is urged to call Saskatchewan’s Turn In Poachers and Polluters line at 1-800-667-7561 or to report them online at saskatchewan.ca/tipp.

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