Yowie Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Yesterday, a spear fisherman was spearing along the rocks south of Cronulla, and he speared Gus the Groper, a local identity that was about 40 years old. Hand fed by many divers and snorkellers, this groper had no fear of humans. I have previously hand fed crushed urchins to blue groper in this area many years ago, the big ones swim around you until you feed them. Fortunately, a number of locals spotted this spearo and took photos of him leaving the water with the fish, and walking to a vehicle. Cops contacted and started an investigation (by the Water Police). Appears that D.P.I. will continue the investigation. Spearing groper is Prohibited in N.S.W. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Hornet Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 It would be nice to see the authorities make an example of this idiot and throw the book at him for others to see as a deterrent. Sadly, more often than not, they get a small fine, a slap on the wrist and are back reoffending before you know it. At least that’s what I’ve seen in the past. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunc333 Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 what a shame .idiots like this bloke give the greenies a leg up to ban all types of fishing.As a fisherman i really hope they throw the book and more at him a tleast a public naming and shaming .people like this wreck it for all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsswordfisherman Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Shocking story @Yowie This is why swordie and I banned spear fishing posts here in fishraider many years ago. It isn’t catch and release is it!! The poor fish have no chance at all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted December 31, 2023 Author Share Posted December 31, 2023 8 minutes ago, mrsswordfisherman said: Shocking story @Yowie This is why swordie and I banned spear fishing posts here in fishraider many years ago. It isn’t catch and release is it!! The poor fish have no chance at all. No chance of release. His photo was posted on the Sutherland Shire website, face blacked out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunc333 Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 if charges are laid he will be named and shamed ,by the sounds of it hes going to plead he didnt know they were protected and spear fishing banned at that spot .to me all bullshit and he probably has a disorder and grew up in a bad family so on and so on .hes probably cooking it right now .enough is enough same as the cockle pillaging down wollongong way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bessell1955 Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Yes, very sad indeed . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lastworm Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Read this earlier and it infuriated me. The bloke will get away with it by pleading ignorance. The guy had enough knowledge to have all the gear and kit to go spear fishing, was clued up enough to know the fish was edible, but didn’t know he was targeting a protected species in an exclusion zone. Common sense should have the book thrown at him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve0 Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 This seems an opportune thread to remind people how they can report illegal fishing. In NSW, the contact number is 1800 043 536. When you saw something you too late or are unable to make a call, make a web page report . 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Hornet Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 Pleading ignorance shouldn’t be an excuse because just like us line fishermen, he had to hold a license and would have been given the brochures stating the rules. If he didn’t read them that’s his problem and let’s face it, the non spearing of groper law would have been in place since before he was born. If ignorance is not seen as an excuse if caught fishing inside a sanctuary zone, nor should any other breach of the code. Sadly once solicitors and the courts become involved, this rarely seems to happen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve0 Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 1 hour ago, lastworm said: Read this earlier and it infuriated me. The bloke will get away with it by pleading ignorance. Maybe yes; maybe no. The bloke may get away with it if inspectors are unable to find sufficient evidence of the offence. From the reading just done, spearing Gropers appears to necessitate court action rather than an on-the-spot fine. Evidence would need to be sufficient to proceed to court. Here is an example Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimT Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 14 minutes ago, Steve0 said: Maybe yes; maybe no. The bloke may get away with it if inspectors are unable to find sufficient evidence of the offence. From the reading just done, spearing Gropers appears to necessitate court action rather than an on-the-spot fine. Evidence would need to be sufficient to proceed to court. Here is an example you would think the photos taken would be sufficient evidence?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted January 1 Author Share Posted January 1 1 hour ago, JimT said: you would think the photos taken would be sufficient evidence?? Would be preferable to sign up a witness who took such photo. Another photo appeared showing his face, not blacked out. The locals who fed that groper are not happy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lastworm Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 The guy received a $500 fine. Pathetic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve0 Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 (edited) 6 hours ago, JimT said: you would think the photos taken would be sufficient evidence?? Reading the example again (the entire thing this time), I goofed about needing to go to court. Assuming the wording of the example was correct, Inspectors only need to prove possession of a speared Groper to issue a penalty notice. It seems reasonable that photos would be enough to penalize someone but it is likely the photos would need to show who had possession and enough to show damage caused by a spear. It seems unlikely the person who did the spearing would agree to a photo that gives that detail (but I'm not going to say photos taken were not enough, only that I have doubts). EDIT: Just saw on the News $500 fine applied. It sounded like Gus was released and subsequently vanished, but news channels can be a bit loose with the truth. Edited January 1 by Steve0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted January 1 Author Share Posted January 1 1 hour ago, Steve0 said: EDIT: Just saw on the News $500 fine applied. It sounded like Gus was released and subsequently vanished, but news channels can be a bit loose with the truth. From what my wife could find out, the spearo denied spearfishing (the cops saw his spearing gear, he denied using it) and the groper could not be found anywhere. More to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickmarlin62 Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 The foto i seen on fb showed his face he was wearing a wetsuit covered in blood and carrying a spear im an excomp spearo an there is no excuse for killing the stupid things they swim up an want a feed 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve0 Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 30 minutes ago, Yowie said: From what my wife could find out, the spearo denied spearfishing (the cops saw his spearing gear, he denied using it) and the groper could not be found anywhere. More to come. I now saw the photo (may upset some, so view at own discretion). He is holding the speargun, wearing mask, goggles, rubber boots and a wetsuit with a lot of blood on it. Any excuse he comes up with would be amusing in the context of the photo. He seems to be posing for the camera, so possibly he was unaware of the law but that doesn't matter. Possession is possession. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunc333 Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 $500 fine what a joke .thats it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimT Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 On 1/2/2024 at 9:33 AM, dunc333 said: $500 fine what a joke .thats it. TV news had video of him with the groper. Evidence is not a problem. Whether authorities follow up is !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonD Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 (edited) Im quite surprised by many of the comments on this, yes it was someone who obviously didn't understand the local fishing rules and regs. However if it had been a rod and reel angler catching any of the gropers I so often see and hand feed while on scuba or spearfishing it would be considered quite ok for them to catch and kill it. For years I dived with both scuba and free dive a location which had a fair sized groper of just under 15kg which I would never consider targeting with rod and line. It was a rod and line angler who killed it for a inter club competition where he was congratulated by just about every person from all clubs on his catch. It was also the species he targets more than any other species of fish. Personally even though I have my favourite species to interact with under water, I see no difference in catching and keeping a kingfish, tuna, marlin etc over a groper. Those who get under the surface will also know that kingfish can be just as curious and interact with you much like groper. Wrasse are even more interactive than groper, yet people will often discard them as a rubbish catch for the cat. Unfortunately for some fish if they don't look the part they aren't treated with the same respect all fish should have. Over this Xmas holiday fisheries have been catching many anglers in my area for having undersized kingfish. There have been a fair amount of undersized flathead and snapper also among local catches. There have been numerous boats in the various sanctuaries here also fishing, to the point I can guarantee seeing boats in these areas on every trip. Yes fisheries hand out warnings to people from outside the area but then come down harder on second offences. What Im saying here is this is a daily thing happening here not a mistake someone has made for the first time on a 40yr old fish, if they had it wouldn't of been 40 years old. I would be extremely surprised if this person was aware he had done wrong until he got mobbed on the rocks as many other states allow for them to be speared. Yes someone made a mistake and he now needs executing by the angry mob with any other fishing person who may of ever drifted into a marine sanctuary, exceeded a no wash speed limit or forgotten to check the dates of their life jackets. https://www.theinertia.com/environment/why-spearfishing-isnt-all-just-blood-and-guts/ Edited January 3 by JonD 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsswordfisherman Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 Thanks for the discussion on this widely broadcasted event. I am closing it now as it has been resolved. The person has been identified and fined. mrsswordie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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