Canada

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Georges Mamelonet, a Liberal MNA for the Gaspe riding, attends an Atlantic Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers meeting in Halifax on Monday, February 15, 2010. THE CANADIAN PRESS/MARKETWIRE PHOTO/Fisheries and Oceans Canada

There are many reasons a politician might be forced to resign, and this is a rare one.

A Quebec politician has been forced to leave his duties as a parliamentary secretary because he's accused of illegally fishing for sea urchin.

Georges Mamelonet, a Liberal MNA for the Gaspe riding, has temporarily stepped down as parliamentary secretary to the minister of agriculture and fisheries. He said in a statement Tuesday that he made the decision after deep reflection, in the hope of "avoiding any imbroglio."

He used to own a seafood restaurant in the Gaspe region and had a licence to fish the spiny sea creatures.

But that licence lapsed years ago, and now Mamelonet is in court, fighting against charges that he says could bring fines of up to $100,000.

Mamelonet doesn't deny fishing without a recognized licence, but he calls the issue an administrative mixup. He says he fishes 50 pounds of urchins per year.