Spate of summer infringements worry South Coast Fisheries officers

A spate of fishing law infringements and warnings to recreational fishers, during patrols along the South Coast this summer, has raised concerns with Department of Fisheries officers.

Southern Region Compliance Manager Peter Godfrey said the number and nature of the prosecutions, infringements and warnings given out by Fisheries officers this summer was concerning.

“The rules that are in place in various fisheries are there to make sure there will be fish for the future and every time someone breaks them it means they are not only ignoring the need for sustainable fishing practices, they are also being greedy,” Mr Godfrey said.

“We had one case recently in which a fisher was found with double his bag limit of greenlip abalone and another person, dealt with in the Albany court before Christmas, had three times the bag limit of skippy.”

“Today in the Albany court, a Kojonup man was fined more than $370 for taking excess salmon and two fishers allegedly found in possession of 120 Roe’s abalone, which amounts to each of them having 40 abalone in excess of the individual possession limits, had their cases adjourned and moved to Perth’s Central Law Court for mention on 12 February.

Mr Godfrey said the community expected the Department of Fisheries to monitor compliance with fishing laws and he also encouraged people to call the FishWatch line on 1800 815 507 to report suspected illegal fishing activity.

“The possible fines for breaching fishing rules are large and fishers should be aware that we appreciate the quality information that comes through to us, particularly when callers include vessel and vehicle registrations, which help us identify possible offenders,” he said.

“Our FishWatch illegal fishing reports’ service helps the community to help us apprehend those who do the wrong thing.

“Department of Fisheries patrols will continue along the South Coast and I’m hoping the reality that fishers face large fines for breaching the Fish Resources Management Act will serve as a warning to all fishers.

“We have already issued 18 infringements and 15 warnings this summer, including some for the marron season that opened on Friday and we are determined to get the message across that Fisheries rules are there for sustainability of marine and freshwater resources.”

REPORT ALL SUSPECTED ILLEGAL FISHING ACTIVITY TO FISHWATCH - 1800 815 507

Information from Recfishwest.