Viral Bowmanville net-fishing video highlights need for education, enforcement: advocates

As a video appearing to show someone net fishing in Bowmanville Creek continues to rack up views, comments and shares, advocates say the incident highlights a need for greater education and enforcement in Ontario.

The nearly 40-second video first appeared to be posted on TikTok in mid-September and was subsequently shared on platforms like Facebook, where one of the main posts had approximately 2.3 million views, and YouTube.

It began by showing someone in the creek while several people can be seen standing nearby and a fish can be seen flopping on the ground. As the person in the water can be seen moving ahead with a net, someone can be heard heckling.

“You guys know that’s very illegal, eh?” someone can be heard saying.

“What is (sic) your guys’ names? You’re netting fish, yeah. You’re netting fish, which is extremely illegal.”

The incident saw genuine questions raised afterward about fishing rules in Ontario, but several xenophobic and racist comments were also posted.

Net fishing for salmon isn’t allowed in Bowmanville Creek.

CityNews contacted the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, which is primarily responsible for enforcement of provincial fishing regulations, to ask for an interview to discuss the issues raised in the video. No one was made available to go on camera. A spokesperson for Minister Graydon Smith released a brief statement in response to the issue.

“Conservation officers are aware of this matter and are currently investigating. If anyone has information, you can contact the MNR (Ministry of Natural Resources) tips line toll-free at 1-877-847-7667 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS should you wish to remain anonymous,” Melissa Candelaria wrote.

During a visit to the creek, two conservation officers were seen on patrol by CityNews.

Coun. Lloyd Rang, who represents Ward 2 on Clarington council, said the municipality deals with improper fishing practices yearly.

“It’s unfortunate that this video went around the way that it did because it didn’t go around because people are passionate about fish conservation, and went around for the wrong reasons,” he told CityNews while visiting the Bowmanville Creek fish ladder.

“The primary challenge here is Durham is a really fast-growing area … There are more and more people coming out here all the time, so the need for enforcement is greater.”

Rang said residents and anglers have a strong connection with the waterway. He said since the 1980s, volunteers have worked to reintroduce salmon to the creek. Work began in the 2010s to build the fish ladder and make it easier for spawning fish, and since it was built anglers have helped with maintenance.

“Bowmanville Creek in a lot of ways is the heart of Bowmanville, and the fish ladder is the heart of the creek,” Rang said.

“This is one of the few places that you can come to as a family and see nature doing its thing. This is an inspiring and amazing event.”

Every September and October, salmon migration activity ramps up across the Greater Toronto Area.

CityNews spent multiple days visiting Bowmanville Creek and other major GTA rivers, including the Credit River and Humber River, to see if potential improper fishing practices could be found. Many anglers could be seen using fishing rods, but there were a couple of questionable instances.

At approximately 1:15 a.m. on Sept, 18, it appeared two people with the help of a flashlight could be seen at the base of the Bowmanville Creek Fish Ladder through a Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority YouTube live camera feed. Fishing within 120 metres of the fish ladder isn’t allowed as officials said these are areas where eggs can be released.

Meanwhile, during a visit to the Humber River a youth could be seen walking in the river moving a net through the water as an adult looked on.

‘Complicated’ rules govern fishing in Bowmanville and across Ontario

For anyone who wants to take up fishing in Ontario, it’s not a straightforward proposition at first.

“[The rules] are complicated,” Adam Weir, a fisheries biologist with the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, told CityNews.

“It’s one of the things that we struggle with too, which is finding ways to simplify the regulations so they’re understandable, they’re accessible to diverse demographics that want to participate in angling.”

The Ontario government puts out a list of regulations governing year-round fishing activities annually. The province is split into 20 fishing zones. Each zone has different restrictions and rules (you can check specific areas on the government’s online mapping system). The full 2024 guide of Ontario fishing regulations is nearly 150 pages and it’s not easily available in non-official languages.

Most residents and non-residents in Ontario need to have an outdoors card and one of two categories of fishing licences (sport with its higher catch limits, or conservation). These can be bought online (click here for the link), through an approved licence issuer, or through ServiceOntario.

However, youth, seniors, veterans and active military members generally aren’t required to buy licences, but regular government identification might be requested by conservation officers.

Indigenous peoples are also exempt from many regulations through treaty rights guaranteed by the Canadian constitution.

CityNews asked Weir about fishing for salmon with nets.

“It’s definitely illegal fishing activity,” he said.

“There are non-angling methods for capturing fish that are permitted in Ontario, just not for those species.”

When asked about the sensitivity of using nets versus rods, Weir said it boils down to sustainability.

“Ensuring ongoing productivity of the fishery and when people can use and increase their efficiency with certain methods … it gives them an upper advantage and potentially leads to them taking too many fish compared to the limitations of just a simple rod and reel,” he said while noting the overall salmon population is still plentiful.

Meanwhile, Weir and Rang emphasized most of the anglers they’ve met comply with the rules and are passionate about being responsible. However, the current discussion surrounding the video serves as a call to action.

“Education and enforcement are some major themes and takeaways,” Weir said.

“Enforcement is one lever that can be pulled and we can ticket people and charge them, but also there’s another side to this where providing people with better education, training, and doing some outreach in terms of the complicated regulations that you already talked about.”

Rang, who said he and other members of Clarington council are pushing the Ontario government for additional resources, encouraged people to report issues to the Ministry of Natural Resources versus confronting others.

“It’s not worth the effort, the hassle, the downside of doing that, so I really encourage people not to take matters into their own hands,” he said.

“I think this is a teachable moment in some ways. I think folks can learn an awful lot about proper fishing practices from this if they haven’t necessarily been educated.

“I think it’s a wake-up call in a sense because as urbanization increases and as we continue to put pressure on natural spaces like this one, I think it’s really important that conservation remains front and centre.”