‘The ice hut was neglected throughout the winter months and gradually sank into the ice until the base of the hut and all its contents were encased in ice,’ a news release said

A Sault Ste. Marie man has been fined $3,000 in connection with his ice fishing hut.

Benjamin Halcrow was found guilty of unlawfully placing a fishing hut on the ice with the prescribed number not displayed.

A news release on the Natural Resources website says he was charged last year for unlawfully leaving “a fishing hut in Fisheries Management Zone 10 after March 31 and unlawfully depositing materials on ice.

“He was fined $3,000 and received a one-year fishing licence suspension.”

An investigation was completed after complaints were received about an ice hut being left on Upper Island Lake in Aweres Township during the winter of 2025.

“The ice hut was neglected throughout the winter months and gradually sank into the ice until the base of the hut and all its contents were encased in ice,” the release said.

In mid-April 2025, concerned residents of Upper Island Lake cut out and removed the ice hut from the lake before it broke through the ice and into the water.

Through the investigation, it was determined that in January 2025, Halcrow placed the ice hut on the ice without displaying the registration number on the outside.

Halcrow left the hut on the ice past the March 31 removal deadline as required in Fisheries Management Zone 10 and abandoned the hut and its contents, causing them to be deposited on the ice.

“Ice hut owners in Fisheries Management Zones 9 to 12 and 14 to 20 must register any non‑fabric hut or fabric tents seven metres squared or larger and display the registration number clearly on the exterior,” the release said.

“Ice hut owners must also remove huts by the required regional deadline.”

Justice of the Peace Jean-Marie Blier heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Sault Ste. Marie, on Dec. 11, 2025.

To report a natural resource problem or provide information about an unsolved case, members of the public can call the ministry TIPS line toll free at 1-877-847-7667.

You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS. For more information about unsolved cases, please visit ontario.ca/MNRTips.