A group of fishermen from Colorado have recently been ordered to pay thousands of dollars after they pleaded guilty to poaching over 460 pounds of fish from a Michigan river last fall.
Six men in total have been charged for illegally fishing 463 pounds of salmon from the Manistee River, near Tippy Dam in Dickson Township, in October 2022, a sergeant with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources confirmed in an email to Fox News Digital.
The men, whose ages range from 29 to 56, have each been ordered to pay over $1,100 by the 85th District Court in Manistee County, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
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Three of the charged men are residents of Denver while the other three are residents of Aurora.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources previously reported that the men didn’t have valid fishing licenses and were using illegal tackle.
At the time, the government-run wildlife agency wrote that department officers received a tip from another angler who witnessed the crime.
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Responding officers reportedly saw the men attempt to "break off their fishing lines" to hide their "illegal fishing gear."
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources reported that the group "possessed 17 salmon taken by an illegal method" and eventually they "willingly admitted their illegal activity."
An additional 40 to 50 salmon were recovered from coolers that were kept in the suspects' vehicles and some of the fish had already been filleted.
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If the men had been properly licensed, they would have been allowed to keep 30 fish in total, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Prior to the group’s arrangement, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources reported the men could face a monetary penalty of "more than $4,630 in restitution and additional costs."
Rivers in Michigan are home to coho and Chinook salmon and the department considers the two species to be "a valuable, public natural resource."
Authorities at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced that the 463 pounds of salmon were donated to local Manistee County families the same day they were recovered.
