He was the master of a vessel that was inspected by a Fisheries officer from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), when the boat returned to shore at Little Bay in early April this year.
Last Thursday (19/9) the Geraldton Court heard that the man, and two others on the vessel, had been involved in capturing and retaining six baldchin groper, four coral trout and a WA dhufish on April 4th.
WA’s boat possession limit for demersal finfish is four, so the skipper had exceeded that by seven.
The man was standing in knee deep water, when a Fisheries officer approached and informed him that he intended to inspect the accused's catch.
Geraldton Court was told that following the conversation, the skipper stepped onto the vessel and removed four baldchin groper and one coral trout from a kill tank on the deck of the vessel and deliberately secreted these fish in the battery compartment at the transom of the vessel. This was a deliberate attempt to hide some of the excess fish from the Fisheries Officer.
When the officer checked a compartment at the stern of the vessel, the skipper initially said he didn’t know anything about the fish in the battery box, but he later admitted he put the five fish there to hide them from Fisheries officers.
He was issued a general penalty of $500 for the obstruction charge, a $1,000 fine for exceeding the boat possession limit applying to demersal finfish, a mandatory additional penalty of $1,071.20 for the fish involved and costs $272.70 – bringing his court bill for the offences to $2843.90. The magistrate also prohibited the man from holding a Fishing from a Boat Licence for a month.
The man told the magistrate he’d made a foolish mistake, he was the only one with a licence and it wasn’t his boat.
Director Regional Compliance for the Midwest, Mick Kelly said DPIRD’s Fisheries officers had extensive powers of search and seizure.
“By hindering and obstructing, fishers are preventing the Fisheries officers from doing their duty to help protect WA’s valuable fish resources,” Mr Kelly said.
The rules related to recreational fishing and information on the Recreational Fishing from a Boat Licence can be accessed online, through the Recreational fishing guide 2024 on the Fisheries website, where you can also search the rules by species and location.
Anyone who suspects illegal fishing activity should call FishWatch on 1800 815 507.
By reporting your concerns, you help to protect WA's fish resources for future generations.
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