Commercial SW Fisher fined $20,592
Submitted by bod on Sat, 2010-10-23 20:53
50-year-old Nicholas Michael LUCAS of Bunbury did not attend Busselton court on Tuesday 19 October, but entered an endorsed plea of guilty.
The fisherman was given a global fine of $1,000 on the two offences, which means he also has to pay additional mandatory penalties related to each of them.
Mandatory penalties are calculated at ten times the prescribed value of the fish that is the subject of any proven offence, either by weight or per fish.
Additional mandatory penalties of $9736.65 were applied to each of the two offences and based on the weight of the 954 mullet that were seized by Fisheries and Marine Officers.
In total, he will be required to pay $20,592.50 for the fine, the penalties and court costs.
The court was told that the accused’s fishing boat licence states “no river or estuarine fishing” and he was therefore not entitled to fish the waters of the Vasse Estuary.
He had later admitted to setting nets in the Estuary on Wednesday 8 September, with the intention of catching mullet for bait, but (contrary to a legal requirement to remain within 100 metres of nets set for fishing) he had left the area and returned to Bunbury.
Police and Fisheries and Marine Officers had stopped the offender’s vehicle, while he was towing his boat, around 6 o’clock the next morning on Layman Road in Wonnerup, after an overnight surveillance operation.
Supervising Fisheries and Marine Officer Kevin Johnson said the fine and penalties were significant and reflected the seriousness of the offences.
“The Department of Fisheries had responded to information of potential illegal fishing and with the help of Police we were able to set up a surveillance operation that netted the commercial fisher,” Mr Johnson said.
“It is another example of community vigilance and joint agency efforts, to ensure that any person fishing in the Vasse Estuary complies with the rules.”
A commercial fisher has been ordered to pay more than $20,000 for breaching a licence condition and contravening an order, when fishing in the Vasse Estuary, near Busselton.
50-year-old Nicholas Michael LUCAS of Bunbury did not attend Busselton court on Tuesday 19 October, but entered an endorsed plea of guilty.
The fisherman was given a global fine of $1,000 on the two offences, which means he also has to pay additional mandatory penalties related to each of them.
Mandatory penalties are calculated at ten times the prescribed value of the fish that is the subject of any proven offence, either by weight or per fish.
Additional mandatory penalties of $9736.65 were applied to each of the two offences and based on the weight of the 954 mullet that were seized by Fisheries and Marine Officers.
In total, he will be required to pay $20,592.50 for the fine, the penalties and court costs.
The court was told that the accused’s fishing boat licence states “no river or estuarine fishing” and he was therefore not entitled to fish the waters of the Vasse Estuary.
He had later admitted to setting nets in the Estuary on Wednesday 8 September, with the intention of catching mullet for bait, but (contrary to a legal requirement to remain within 100 metres of nets set for fishing) he had left the area and returned to Bunbury.
Police and Fisheries and Marine Officers had stopped the offender’s vehicle, while he was towing his boat, around 6 o’clock the next morning on Layman Road in Wonnerup, after an overnight surveillance operation.
Supervising Fisheries and Marine Officer Kevin Johnson said the fine and penalties were significant and reflected the seriousness of the offences.
“The Department of Fisheries had responded to information of potential illegal fishing and with the help of Police we were able to set up a surveillance operation that netted the commercial fisher,” Mr Johnson said.
“It is another example of community vigilance and joint agency efforts, to ensure that any person fishing in the Vasse Estuary complies with the rules.”
Department of Fisheries Media Release 20 October 2010
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18086
Date Joined: 11/03/08
serves him right. he would
serves him right. he would have known the rules but still broke them. no matter how big the fine is , it doesnt replace the fish he took tho
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
Seaquest
Posts: 1132
Date Joined: 22/10/09
Just makes you wonder what
Just makes you wonder what else this guy is up to.
Had a friend that works at one of the wineries in the SW offered Nannies for some wine by a certain pro down here the other day. She couldn't see the harm but I'm sure fisheries would.
till
Posts: 9358
Date Joined: 21/02/08
Pissy fine, ought to lose
Pissy fine, ought to lose the boat and the license.
Auslobster
Posts: 1901
Date Joined: 03/05/08
Too right, James...
...what is that, 20 bucks a mullet? A lot more than what the fish is worth, sure, but boat/licence forfeiture would've really sent a message.
MattMiller
Posts: 4171
Date Joined: 15/06/09
Hopefully
this is a sign of the future. With the $ the fisheries have at their disposal now they should be able to make more arrests and be able to control the pro's who operate outside the rules.
Shorty
Posts: 1549
Date Joined: 10/05/08
So the fisherys were
So the fisherys were watching him in over night survellance ?
Pitty they did not catch him in the act 900 odd Mullet might be still alive and just not evidence,,
MattMiller
Posts: 4171
Date Joined: 15/06/09
I'm guessing
the more he caught the larger the fine they could hit him with. Could've just filmed him in the act? Ordinary way of doin it though.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8673
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Waste
The fish are still sold to the market and the proceeds are used to work out how much the fine will be, so they are not wasted.
The pro beach fishermen are doing it tough down there but not that tough to have an easy set in an area of limited entry for about 400kg of bait fish worth bugger all, Blowie should have known better. Its going to hurt a heck of a lot more when he has to find that sort of dough