Colorado men fined $6,600+ after poaching more than 460 pounds of salmon in Michigan
Tuesday in Manistee County, an angler approached Michigan DNR Conservation Officers Scott MacNeill (left) and Josiah Killingbeck about a group of people illegally fishing the Manistee River, near Tippy Dam in Dickson Township. The officers retrieved
MANISTEE COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A group of Colorado men owes more than $6,600 in fines after poaching 463 pounds of salmon in Michigan last year.
Read: 460+ pounds of poached salmon donated to Michigan families
Agustin Barrera, 29, of Denver; David Cobaxin, 48, of Denver; Alfredo Hernandez, 56, of Denver; Gregorio Hernandez, 49, of Aurora; Leonel Lopez, 38, of Aurora, and Raul Lopez, 37, of Aurora pleaded guilty to taking fish by an illegal method earlier this month.
In October 2022, another fisherman reported to the Department of Natural Resources that they saw a group of men using illegal methods and equipment to take fish from the Manistee River, near the Tippy Dam in Dickson Township. When the conservation officers found the group, several people tried to break off their fishing lines to hide their illegal equipment, the DNR said.
Each man was ordered to pay more than $1,100 in restitution, fines, and costs.
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The fish that was poached was donated to Manistee County families.