mrmoshe Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Fishermen reeling after court fine Two Sydney men have been fined a total of $2,600 after pleading guilty to fishing within an exclusion zone of the Port Stephens Great Lakes Marine Park. The two men were found in a fishing boat about 15 metres from a large yellow "no fishing" buoy near Fly Point at Nelson Bay. The men were charged with having fishing gear in a sanctuary zone, supplying false names, having undersized fish and not having a fishing licence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monch Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Wow, caught red-handed for everything you can imagine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewhunter Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 You would think that if you were 15 mtrs from the exclusion zone that you would learn to cast a bit further & stay outside it. But then again if they were keeping undersized fish & supplying false names then they might not have the capacity to cast that far! Good example set by the authorities I reckon. Cheers, Grant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hottyscotty Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 $2600?! Is that all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgey Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Fishing unlicensed within 15m of the exclusion marker with undersized fish, and then supplying false names. $2600 will hurt the wallet, but I am surprised they didn't forfeit any gear. Hodgey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnv Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 unlucky 4 them , I wonder if they learn the next time [ probaly not ] . for life from fishing cheers john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breamzilla Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I don't understand why you'd keep undersized fish, there's not much meat on them anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjchen Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 thats what i believe in too the ecosystem needs to be maintained so our children can fish too otherwise theres nothing left i love australia , theres fish u can eat from the oceans , why would u wanna ruin that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tevoro Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 I don't understand why you'd keep undersized fish, there's not much meat on them anyway You'd be surprised how many times I've seen people keep undersized fish, some smaller than the size of a palm. But due to the rules of the forum, I dont mention them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flightmanager Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 You'd be surprised how many times I've seen people keep undersized fish, some smaller than the size of a palm. But due to the rules of the forum, I dont mention them. A wise move tevoro . Please lets keep this on topic ! Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breamzilla Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 I'll PM a mod about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adjustedpete Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Ha.... I wish they were that vigilant in sydney. There might be some fish for the common man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flightmanager Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 I have had my catch inspected a couple of times by Fisheries , but I expect that manpower / budgets have a lot to do with it . Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjbink Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Ha.... I wish they were that vigilant in sydney. There might be some fish for the common man Just call the Fisheries hotline - 1800 043 536. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petkovd2006 Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Its good to see fisheries doing their job. The guys they nabbed seemed dodgy and deserve all the punishment they receive. I know people that used to keep under size fish cause they never really caught anything decent. After a few trips with me, their attitudes soon changed and they learnt not only to throw back the little ones, but keep our waterways clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adjustedpete Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Just call the Fisheries hotline - 1800 043 536. Cheers mate...number is in my phone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaune Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 The penalties are massive. $2600! Far more severe than for everyday crimes like , say , drink driving or common assault. I suspect that they put the penalties so high as a deterant because the chances of getting caught are very small. We need more fisheries officers , plain and simple. To monitor recreational and professional. And also more education on the rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjbink Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 The penalties are massive. $2600! Far more severe than for everyday crimes like , say , drink driving or common assault. I suspect that they put the penalties so high as a deterant because the chances of getting caught are very small. We need more fisheries officers , plain and simple. To monitor recreational and professional. And also more education on the rules. Given that they were fishing in a green zone I'd say they weren't caught by fisheries inpectors but the MPA rangers (AKA the fun police). $1000 (at least) of that penalty would be for merely the act of fishing there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigtempo Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 These r the sort of ass wipes that gives fuel and amunition to the greenie types ....... ONLY $2600!!!!!!!! confiscate the boat, ban them from fishing . and give he 1000 hrs community service . craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennnsmith Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 Hooray!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captnstabbn Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 As a keen and pretty green rock, beach & inshore fisho who gets around NSW a bit - Agree with the fines for undersized fish - some people just shouldn't be allowed to participate in our great sport.... Fine for licences - well, I guess we've learned to accept "fishing receipt" fees as just another part of life. It's human nature to want to see others have to pay their share because the rest of us do. I got mine the first day they came out - and have only had to produce it 3 times since (actually twice at the nelson bay ramp near fly point - small world??) But someone else hit the nail on the head there - most of the $$ in the fine would have come from the MPA. They're heaps better resourced to patrol "their" patch than fisheries because they get the green vote support. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I enjoyed fishing some great spots in the Solitaries, Port Stephens & Batemans Bay areas for well over 20 years before the MPA came along and drew imaginary no fishing boundaries all over the place based on their dubious "scientific" evidence and green vote preference deals. Anyway my third point (before the soap box bit) was fines issued for otherwise law abiding angling in an MPA sanctioned "no fishing" zone are completely unacceptable and should not be seen as anything but evil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjbink Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 (edited) Yes, I made that point captnstabn - most of the penalty would have been for fishing inside the so called green zone and they would have been nabbed by the fun police (ie MPA rangers) and not Fisheries. So those calling for chains and irons are a bit off the mark. As to keeping a few undersized fish, well we should all obey the rules, but I think it is a minor offence from a fisheries management perspective. Keeping the same number of legal sized fish would probably have more impact as they would be of breeding size. A lot of small fish don't make it to breeding size given the high levels of predation in the marine environment. Edited June 19, 2009 by billfisher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BalmainBob Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 Gday Raiders, Here is a more detailed item concerning this incident. IT should be noted that the men werent actually caught fishing in the sactury zone but were caught with fishing gear in the zone. Also they did have their fishing gear forieted. Link to original story http://www.mpa.nsw.gov.au/mr-5-june-09.html News Release 5th June 2009 Court fines fishers for Marine Sanctuary breach A Raymond Terrace court has ordered two fishermen who pleaded guilty to fishing in a marine sanctuary within the Port Stephens Great Lakes Marine Park earlier this year pay a total of $2651 in fines and costs. The court heard that the men, 22-year-old Mohamad Fenej of Greenacre, and 28-year-old Walid Fenej of Yagoona, had been fishing in a marine park sanctuary adjacent to Fly Point, Nelson Bay. The area has been closed to all forms of fishing for over 25 years and is now part of the Port Stephens Great Lakes Marine Park. Port Stephens Great Lakes Marine Park Manager Max Haste said the Fly Point – Corrie Island sanctuary was an area of significant environmental importance. “It supports a unique range of fish and marine life, and within this area you cannot fish, destroy marine life, or even possess fishing gear. These restrictions are designed to protect marine life within the area, provide breeding stocks to help replenish other areas, as well as protect sensitive habitats and maintain biodiversity. “It is also an important area for marine education due to the spectacular diversity and abundance of marine life and is considered to be the best shore dive in NSW. “The fishermen were seen in a boat within the marine sanctuary only about 15 metres away from a large yellow buoy stating ‘Sanctuary Zone, No Fishing’. They pleaded guilty to possessing fishing gear in a marine park sanctuary; giving false names; having undersize fish and not having fishing licences. The men’s rods and esky were forfeited to the court and their illegal catch of snapper was also seized.” Mr Haste recommended all fishers familiarise themselves with the marine park zones before going fishing and said zoning plan guides were available at numerous outlets including bait and tackle shops, tourist information centres, some caravan parks and even service stations in the region. He said the guides can also be viewed and downloaded from the Marine Parks Authority website on www.mpa.nsw.gov.au. He said that any information regarding illegal fishing in the region could be directed to the Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Park office on 02 4916 3970. Media Contact: Tonia Liosatos Cheers Balmain Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason baker Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 (edited) They can't have been very good fisho's. Have you seen the size of the bream that swim around at Fly point? Nothing short of monsters. And flighty... Ha! they will come and nibble your ear if you swim there. They should have been arrested for not catching record fish there if nothing else. But seriously, it's good to see turkeys getting caught and punished. Cheers, Jas. Edited August 10, 2009 by peschi boi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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