A hunter from Texas has been fined $10,000 after shooting too many ducks in northern Saskatchewan.

On Friday, a Saskatoon provincial court judge fined Houston resident William C. Braden III after he pleaded guilty to violating the Migratory Birds Convention Act by exceeding the bag limits on three days.

Braden was originally charged with nine counts. After he pleaded guilty to three, the Crown stayed the remaining six counts.

On the three days in question, he bagged 16, 15 and nine ducks in the Cumberland Marsh area in 2003. The legal limit is eight ducks a day.

"Anyone who hunts illegally has an unfair advantage over the guy who does things legally, said Brian Petrar, a spokesman for the wildlife enforcement division of Environment Canada.

"We want to make sure everybody's on a level playing field."

The charges were laid by Environment Canada game officers, following an investigation they conducted with the Saskatchewan Environment Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The fine goes to an environmental protection fund.

The investigation centred on illegal hunting activities conducted at Mistik Lodge near Cumberland House in 2002 and 2003. Cumberland House is about 400 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.

The same investigation resulted in seven North Carolina hunters pleading guilty to federal and provincial wildlife offences and being fined.

In March 2005, a Cumberland House outfitter and three guides were fined $30,000 for their actions.

Environment Canada says those actions included counselling clients to exceed daily duck hunting limits and refrain from retrieving birds that were shot.