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Men fined for illegally selling walleye caught in Canoe Lake, Sask.

Saskatchewan conservation officers said they bought more than 200 walleye from two men there were caught in Canoe Lake, Sask.
Saskatchewan conservation officers said they bought more than 200 walleye from two men there were caught in Canoe Lake, Sask. The Canadian Press file

Two Canoe Narrows, Sask., men have been fined thousands of dollars for illegally selling fish.

Conservation officers said they were alerted in 2016 that two people were selling fish illegally.

During undercover operations, officers said they bought more than 200 walleye from two men.

Environment Ministry officials said neither man was a licensed commercial fisherman or licensed to sell fish.

Richard Desjardin, 63, pleaded guilty to three counts of marketing fish without a licence, commercial fishing without a licence, fishing in a closed area, and obstruction.

He was fined $14,500 and forfeited his truck to the Crown.

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Donald Iron, 60, was found guilty on three counts of illegally selling fish and three counts of selling fish without a licence.

He was fined $1,080.

Charges against two other men were stayed.

The majority of the fish caught by the men were in an area of Canoe Lake which is closed year-round to all fishing to protect the walleye spawning ground.

The walleye population in the lake crashed in the 1970s and 1980s and has taken years to recover.

The fishing closure on the lake has been in place for over 20 years, and is supported by Canoe Lake First Nation.

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