Canadian Border Rules Relaxed

Rules relaxed on Erie, Canada border water
By Steve Pollick
Contributing Writer
Thursday, April 24, 2008 11:33 AM CDT
Sandusky, Ohio (AP) - Lake Erie charter boat captains who venture into Canadian waters to look for fish won't need to phone ahead after all so that the U.S. government can run background checks on their passengers.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials also have decided to relax rules on requiring passengers on charter trips to have a passport or two forms of identification.

Charter captains who make their living taking people out on fishing excursions are happy with the change of plans.

Customs officials told charter operators in March that they would need to call ahead an hour before they crossed into Canadian waters and provide a passenger list so that the government could conduct background checks (Ohio Outdoor News, April 11).

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The government also said everyone on the boat would need a a passport or two forms of identification.

Charter captains complained, saying the rules were too cumbersome.

Customs officials decided in mid-April to change their mind and now say U.S. citizens will need only to report if they plan on stopping at a Canadian port - not if they just plan to fish or drop anchor. Proper identification will be needed only if boaters visit a foreign port.

The change in plans should help business, said Mike Matta, who runs Matta Charter Fishing in Port Clinton.

“It shows that there's common sense in our government,” he said. “We might get a positive bounce back and actually get more people to come back.”

Matta said he crosses the border about 35 times during most seasons to chase walleyes, which tend to migrate between Ohio and Canada in June and July.

“Sometimes you got to follow the fish,” Matta said.

Rick Unger, president of the Lake Erie Charter Boat Association, said he spent quite a bit of time on lobbying against the proposed rules.

“These changes are going to be a big help to us,” he said.

Unger, who runs charters out of Marblehead, said boat operators just want rules that make sense.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Brett Sturgeon had said the proposed regulations were not new and weren't aimed at singling out charter boat captains.

Charter captains could have faced steep penalties or lost their fishing license if they had ignored the proposed rules.