Overfishing, smoking and littering at one of Coquitlam's most popular parks prompted a city committee this week to call for action.
At Monday's recreation committee meeting, council members heard how some people at Como Lake Park have been abusing the facilities by reeling in more than their daily fish limit, smoking on the wharves and on park trails, and tossing their trash on the ground.
The discussion came after Burnaby resident Julien Masatow, a frequent Como Lake angler, presented a 59-name petition to the city that requested better municipal bylaw enforcement at the Gatensbury Street park.
Park users playing with remote-controlled boats with powerful engines on the lake and urinating behind bushes are also complaints listed on the petition. The noisy water crafts "sound like motorcycles," Masatow told The Tri-City News yesterday. "I'm there to just fish and relax."
Masatow said he and other fishers have been called rude names when they confront people who violate park rules. "It's intimidating," he said.
Charlotte Lawson, assistant manager of the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC, which stocks Como and Lafarge lakes each spring and fall, said the number of calls about violators at Como Lake is "not out of the ordinary" and those who phone are directed to the RAPP hotline at 1-877-952-7277.
Anglers aged 16 and over with fishing licences should know the catch limit for each lake and "not knowing is not an excuse," she said (fishers are allowed up to four trout per day each at Como and Lafarge lakes).
Mayor Richard Stewart told the committee he has heard about many fishing infractions at both lakes. During a recent family fishing derby at Lafarge Lake, poachers were seen at 4 a.m. taking trout from the kids' netted section, in the southwest area, before the event.
Some anglers are also catching for food, taking more than 20 fish a day. "I think we need to step up with bylaw enforcement," Stewart said, suggesting fines be raised to $500 for overfishing.
Coun. Doug Macdonell, who chairs the rec committee, said the city needs to hire more bylaw officers.
Meanwhile, Coun. Mae Reid asked that park users who see violators to take their photos and post them to social media websites. "We need to embarrass these people," she said.
