The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is reminding anglers to plan ahead in order to remove your ice hut on time.
Ice huts must be removed from certain Fisheries Management Zones (FMZ) in Ontario by a specified date.
Depending on where you're located, that's mostly between March 1 and March 31. All ice huts must be removed before ice breakup, even if no removal date applies.
Conservation officers encourage anglers to make sure their huts are placed on the ice in a way that prevents them from freezing into the ice, i.e. blocking the skids up off the ice, which will make removal easier to do.
Ice hut owners are responsible to remove all debris, garbage etc. from the ice in the vicinity of their ice huts.
Leaving debris frozen in the ice becomes an environmental and a public safety concern, i.e. boaters colliding with wooden blocks, tarps, ice hut parts, etc.
Conservation officers ask that all ice hut owners start making a plan for removing their ice huts before the specified deadline.
Do not wait until the last minute to move them, said the MNRF — this will show responsible ownership.
If ice huts remain out on the ice beyond the specified deadline, the matter will be investigated and may result in charges being laid against the owner(s) of the hut.
If you have further questions, reach out to your local MNRF enforcement unit, as conservation officers are here to help you and answer any questions you may have, said a press release.
To report a natural resources violation, phone the MNRF TIPS line at 1-877-847-7667 toll-free any time or contact your local ministry office during regular business hours.
You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). And visit here to view an interactive, searchable map of unsolved cases. You may be able to provide information that will help solve a case.
