Poacher at Mona Vale prosecuted in Manly Court
by RFA of NSW 9 Nov 2021 01:28 UTC
Poacher at Mona Vale prosecuted in Manly Court © RFA of NSW
A strong warning has been sent to illegal abalone fishers after a man was fined $10,000 last week for exceeding the possession limit of abalone.
A call to the Fishers Watch phoneline was all it took for local Fisheries Officers to apprehend the man, who was diving at Mona Vale on Sydney's Northern Beaches.
The man was in possession of 14 times the bag limit of two Abalone, being found with 28 Black-lip Abalone; 25 of these were under the prescribed size limit. He also had speared a Blue Groper, which can only be caught using a rod and line or handline in NSW. He was also not in immediate possession of his Recreational Fishing Licence.
All the man's catch, and equipment were seized by officers, including wetsuit, speargun, float, knives, weight belt, esky, mask and snorkel. On 16 September, the fisher was convicted in Manly Local Court and fined $10,000 for the abalone offences and $3000 for the blue groper offence under the Fisheries Management Act.
This outcome sends a strong message to fishers who flout the rules, especially for high value species like abalone and for species like blue groper who have restrictions on the methods available to catch them for a reason.
The apprehension of the individual was made possible by a very accurate information report provided by a local spearfisher.
The public is encouraged to report illegal or suspect illegal fishing activity to the Fishers Watch Phoneline on 1800 043 536, report it online via the submission form at fal.cn/3gJWh.