A Toronto man has been fined for illegal fishing in Algonquin Provincial Park.
On Aug. 21, 2025, conservation officers investigated a man who had been fishing from a rowboat on Sec Lake, located in Fisheries Management Zone 15. The inspection on the water revealed the man was in possession of a mix of 38 largemouth and smallmouth bass, the Ministry of Natural Resources said in a news release.
At the man’s waterfront campsite, 35 more bass were located in coolers, bags and pans. The sport fishing possession limit for largemouth and smallmouth bass combined in that zone is six, and the man was found to be in possession of 73 bass.
Mykola Bondaruk pleaded guilty to possessing 67 bass over the legal limit. He was fined $5,000 and prohibited from all fishing-related activities in Ontario for one year.
Justice of the Peace Jennifer L. Grant heard the case in Pembroke on Nov. 17, 2025.