Lead-stuffed salmon draws fraud charges

PORT DALHOUSIE, Ontario, June 24 (UPI) -- A Niagara-area man keen to win a Canadian fishing derby has been charged with fraud after his salmon was found to be artificially weighted with lead pellets.

Every day of the week from May through the end of June, the Salmon Masters Derby offers a $500 prize for the heaviest fish weighing more than 20 pounds. Details came to light Monday about a fisherman who brought a salmon to a weigh-in station in Port Dalhousie last month that made judges suspicious, the St. Catharines Standard reported.

While the weight wasn't published, it was remarkably high for a salmon of its size, the report said.

Niagara Regional Police fraud Detective Mark McNeil, also a fisherman, told the newspaper the man apparently thought the weigh scales were the ultimate judge.

"They have a mathematical formula they can use for salmon and the weight of this salmon didn't jibe with the measurements," McNeil said.

Judges opened the salmon and found pieces of lead, at which point the man grabbed the fish and left, the report said.

Norval Boufford was charged with one count of fraud under $5,000, McNeil said.