Will an understanding and respect for the fisheries resource and the regulations ever sink in? For one Edmonton resident this seems unlikely. Thang, Minh Nguyen of Edmonton has been ignoring fisheries regulations for the past number of years in the Edmonton area.

During 1996, Nguyen was charged and convicted on five separate occasions with various fisheries-related offences.

On Oct. 24, 1998, Nguyen was again charged with sportfishing in closed waters and appeared in Stony Plain provincial court on Dec. 9, 1998. Judge J.E. Enright reviewed the circumstances of the case, along with Nguyen's past record and handed down a $350 fine and a three-year sportfishing licence suspension. Following the conviction, Stony Plain officers sent an enforcement bulletin to all Natural Resources Service offices in the area advising them of the outcome and the three-year licence suspension.

On April 25, Nguyen was observed sportfishing on the North Saskatchewan River downstream from Edmonton. When asked by a Fish and Wildlife officer to produce his sportfishing licence, Nguyen did so. An inspection of the licence and the name prompted the officer to run a licence and conviction query on the individual. The date of birth and address used by Nguyen to obtain his 1999/2000 sportfishing licence was different from those he had used in the past and different from what appeared on his driver's licence. With this information the officer seized Nuyen's fishing equipment and issued three charges for violating fisheries legislation.

Further investigation the following day revealed Nguyen had used his passport to purchase his Wildlife ldentification Number (WIN) card, and his current sportfishing licence. The date of birth and address on the passport was in fact different from the information appearing on his driver's licence. Had Nguyen attempted to use his driver's licence to purchase a sportfishing licence, he would have been blocked by the licencing system because of his suspension. The information respecting the discrepancies was passed on to Canada Immigration, who is currently investigating the matter.

On May 13, Nguyen appeared in Fort Saskatchewan provincial court. Judge K.A. Cush fined Nguyen $350 for fishing while suspended, and $350 for obtaining 4 sportfishing licence while under suspension, All fishing equipment was ordered forfeited. The third charge of knowingly possessing a sportfishing licence while under suspension was withdrawn.

Blatant disregard for law. - Drayton Valley District

An Edmonton man was fined $1,150 in a Leduc courtroom last December, after hopping out of a vehicle and shooting a cow and calf moose from a secondary highway.

The Nov. 2, 1998 incident was discovered when a Drayton Valley Fish and Wildlife officer received information through the Report A Poacher hotline indicating that vehicles had come to a standstill on a secondary highway cast of Drayton Valley while a man shot at two antlerless moose. The officer was advised that the subject parked his vehicle in the middle of the road, got out and proceeded to shoot and kill a cow and calf moose.

The officer responded immediately and upon attendance at the scene, confronted two individuals. The officer inspected the animals and found both to be properly tagged with the required special licence. However, it was learned that one individual, Alfredo Ricioppo, 28, had illegally killed both animals by unlawfully discharging his rifle from a secondary highway. Charges were laid against both subjects and the moose were placed under seizure.

Ricioppo, who plead guilty to discharging a firearm from a maintained road allowance and hunting without a licence, was fined and ordered to forfeit both moose to the Crown, The charge of unlawful possession of wildlife, which was laid against the second individual, was stayed.