Quinte Fishing

COVID-19 Outdoor Restrictions Update
Earlier this week the Ontario government announced a second province-wide State-of-Emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will begin at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday (January 14) and includes a stay-at-home directive for all Ontarians. That has many anglers and hunters wondering what that means for their hunting and fishing plans this winter.

The OFAH reached out to government officials to seek additional clarity and confirmed that fishing and hunting activities remain permitted, so long as they are consistent with public health guidelines.

You can find out more details at http://www.ofah.org/covid19.

The OFAH is committed to sharing updates as we receive them to ensure anglers and hunters are well informed. Updates will be shared through OFAH e-news, posted to social media and will be made available through the many COVID-19 resource pages on our website.

General information: http://www.ofah.org/covid19

Closure information: http://www.ofah.org/covid19closures

Outdoors safety tips: http://www.ofah.org/safetytips

COVID-19 FAQ: http://www.ofah.org/covid19/faq

Stay Safe. Stay Strong.

The entire OFAH team.

Contacted the OFAH and KFL&AHU for clarification on ice fishing.

Here's the OFAH reply.

RE: Ice Fishing during Covid shutdown
Contact photo
From Mark Ryckman on 14/01/2021 01:41 PM
Details Plain text
Hello – thanks for reaching out to the OFAH.

Unfortunately the situation is not as clear-cut as most people would like, and we're unlikely to receive any more clarity. The Government is telling people not to travel for non-essential reasons but ice fishing remains open. So while you wouldn't be fined for legal fishing activity, you could be fined if an enforcement officer deems your trip to be non-essential travel. If someone decides to go fishing, our advice to anglers is to follow all public health guidelines. Stay as local as possible, and do not make any stops to and from your fishing location. If you are in an ice hut, it must only be with members of your household. If you are outside, it must be in groups of 5 or less, and physically distanced from people outside of your household. It is also highly recommended that you wear masks around anyone outside of your household. The OFAH is working to keep our website updated as much as possible at http://www.ofah.org/covid19 and http://www.ofah.org/covid19/faq/.

Hope this helps.


Yours in Conservation,
Mark


Mark Ryckman, M.Sc.
Manager of Policy
Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
4601 Guthrie Drive
Peterborough, ON
K9J 8L5

Here's the official Health Unit Response.


The COVID-19 public health measures and restrictions posted on the Ontario website lists Ice Fishing as an acceptable outdoor activity during the Stay-At-Home order:
https://covid-19.ontario.ca/zones-and-restrictions


Outdoor activities

Downhill skiing, golf courses and outdoor driving ranges are closed to the public. Maintenance is allowed.



Cross-country skiing, ice fishing, snowmobiling and dog sledding can stay open, as long as they follow public health requirements.



Thanks,
Jenn

See you on the ice.