NIAGARA FALLS — A pair of incidents in which a New York boater was fined for fishing on Canadian waters has drawn concern from locals.

According to the Watertown Daily Times, Baldwinsville resident Roy Anderson was fishing on the St. Lawrence river when he drifted in Canadian waters. Consequently the 22-year-old’s boat was boarded and seized by Canadian Border Service Agency officers.

Anderson, who was equipped with his $83 Canadian fishing license, did not report his presence to Canadian Customs, and as a result had to pay $1,000 on the spot to get his boat back. His boat was merely a quarter mile into the Canadian water.

North Tonawanda resident Walter Diermyer, 67, said he’s been accessing Canadian waters through the Niagara River for more than 15 years without an issue.

“I sure as hell don’t want to pay a $1,000 fine,” Diermyer said.

Diermyer spoke with port of entry officials who told him that all he had to do before fishing in Canadian waters was call and tell them when and where he would be.

“Then the second time I got a different answer,” he said. “Now the end story is, you have to travel to some marina (in Canada) to tell them you’re going to fish, tie up to a dock and customs will inspect your boat.”

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According to CBSA spokesperson Luc Labelle, all recreational boaters are required to present themselves in Canada. An exception to that would apply to vessels that are “in-transit.”

“In order to be considered “in-transit” the vessel must be proceeding directly from one point outside of Canada to another point outside of Canada,” Labelle said in a statement to the Gazette.

“In-transit movement must be continuos, uninterrupted and without delays or stop-overs. Such movement could be for reasons of the shortest route, requirement of deep waters, evading obstacles such as bridges, etc.”

Fishing doesn’t qualify.

Bill Hilts, Jr., the outdoor specialist with the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation said recently that anglers have always assumed no wrongdoing as long as they had a license and did not anchor or touch foreign soil. But according to the reports by the Times, Canadian Customs seem to be enforcing the Customs Act strictly.

“I don’t think I’ll get a Canadian license anymore,” Diermyer said. “If you want to fish Canadian water, you want to go fish. You don’t want to go fish in some stupid marina for an hour or even a half hour. You’re just wasting your time.

“I fish in tournaments on the river and before all we had to do was not anchor or tie up anywhere,” he continued. “We kept drifting, no problem. But now they’re cracking down. Even if you’re going to drift in Canadian waters, you have to go through the port of entry.”

Diermyer said he contacts Canadian officials before entering waters but is no longer sure if a call is good enough. CBSA officials say they’re looking into it.

“We are currently reviewing our policy for telephone reporting in an effort to make it easier for boaters to comply with the regulations,” Labelle said.

Wednesday Diermyer went out to fish near Strawberry Island, but said it’s a risk because he’s not sure where the Canadian Border starts. Diermyer added that he plans on going to a Canadian marina to see for himself how long the process will take.

But for now, he doesn’t want to chance it.

“There’s nothing we can do about it that I know of besides not buy a license,” he said. “I don’t know anybody that would want to take the chance of getting a $1,000 or $1,500 fine. Everyone I know that has a Canadian fishing license is outraged.”

Contact Tonawanda News sports editor Brandon Koch at 693-1000, ext. 117.