Qld Dpi News

[Ken A]

Heavy fines for illegal fishing activities

More than $15000 in fines was handed down in Cairns Magistrates Courts yesterday (August 9) for illegal fishing offences.

In the first incident two men pleaded guilty and were convicted and fined $3000 each for unlawfully interfering with fishing apparatus. They were also ordered to pay $63.20 court costs.

Robert Whitcher and Gregory Whitcher from Cairns were found raiding crab pots following a Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries surveillance operation in Trinity Inlet, Cairns.

During the operation Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol (QBFP) officers attached a micro tag to a number of crabs that were then placed in crab pots positioned randomly throughout the inlet.

The officers noticed the two men taking crabs from pots that were not their own and then used the micro tag to confirm they had unlawfully taken the crabs.

In a separate incident, commercial operator Dahn Le of Calamvale, Brisbane, was convicted and fined $9000 for unlawful fishing activities.

During a routine inspection QBFP officers found the man to be in possession of a number of non-permitted species while unloading fish at a cold storage in Cairns.

The officers detected a large quantity of illegal species in the catch as well as 31 undersize blue swimmer crabs.

QBFP acting district operations officer Robert Hall, Cairns, said the fines sent a strong message to people breaking fishing regulations.

“The message is that illegal fishing activities will not be tolerated and anyone found breaching fishing regulations will be treated accordingly,” Mr Hall said.

“Fisheries regulations are in place for a reason and that is to protect and conserve Queensland’s fish stocks.

“People who do the wrong thing will be caught and will pay the price. They should weigh this up before heading out to fish.”

Mr Hall also thanked the public for notifying the QBFP about the illegal fishing activities in Trinity Inlet.

“We encourage and rely on the public for information about illegal fishing activities and this is a really good example of working with the community to protect fisheries resources,” he said.

Any suspected illegal fishing activities can be reported to the Fishwatch Hotline on 1800 017 116.