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Fishers pay the price for illegal crab fishing
Date: Friday, 12 June 2009
Eight fishers, apprehended for catching crabs illegally in Cockburn Sound, have been fined in the Rockingham Magistrates Court.
Cockburn Sound was closed to crab fishing, in December 2006, to allow time for the stocks to recover from poor recruitment and low stock numbers.
Magistrate Denis Temby yesterday issued fines, penalties and court costs ranging from $474 to more than $1000 for offences, which occurred in February and March of this year.
The court was told that, around 10.20pm on Tuesday 3 February, Fisheries and Marine Officers had observed four men with torches, scoops and a bucket catching Blue Manna crabs in the waters of Mangles Bay.
Jeffrey Stephen Miles, Stephen George Miles and Clifford Cranham, all from Cooloongup and Stephen Craig Giltrap of Waikiki were each ordered to pay $794.20 (made up of a $300 fine, mandatory penalty of $380 and $114.20 court costs) after pleading guilty to jointly being in possession of 19 crabs during a closed period in Cockburn Sound.
In another matter, the court heard that Fisheries and Marine Officers apprehended three men at 4.30pm on Friday 6 February in a car park at Palm Beach. 20 crabs were found in a catch bag, located in the rear of a vehicle.
Shannon Lee Gilbert and Kevin Stephen Gould from Warnbro pleaded guilty to fishing for crabs during a closed period in Cockburn Sound and were each ordered to pay $814.20 ($300 fine, $400 mandatory penalty and $114.20 court costs).
Daniel Lawrence Ogilvie-Tait from Shoalwater did not enter a plea, but was fined $500 and also ordered to pay the mandatory penalty of $400 and court costs of $114.20 (a total of $1014.20).
In a separate case, Zhong Shao from Spearwood was fined $300, plus court costs of $114.20 and a mandatory penalty of $60, for the three crabs he was in possession of, after setting and pulling up two crabbing drop nets from a jetty in Cockburn Sound at Henderson between 6.20pm and 7.30pm on Saturday 28 March this year.
South Metropolitan Region Compliance Manager John Breeden today said too many fishers had recently been ignoring the current ban on crab fishing in Cockburn Sound and yesterday’s fines would be a strong deterrent to this illegal activity.
More details of all the rules that apply for crab fishing and other WA fisheries are available on the Department of Fisheries website at www.fish.wa.gov.au.
Cockburn Sound was closed to crab fishing, in December 2006, to allow time for the stocks to recover from poor recruitment and low stock numbers.
Magistrate Denis Temby yesterday issued fines, penalties and court costs ranging from $474 to more than $1000 for offences, which occurred in February and March of this year.
The court was told that, around 10.20pm on Tuesday 3 February, Fisheries and Marine Officers had observed four men with torches, scoops and a bucket catching Blue Manna crabs in the waters of Mangles Bay.
Jeffrey Stephen Miles, Stephen George Miles and Clifford Cranham, all from Cooloongup and Stephen Craig Giltrap of Waikiki were each ordered to pay $794.20 (made up of a $300 fine, mandatory penalty of $380 and $114.20 court costs) after pleading guilty to jointly being in possession of 19 crabs during a closed period in Cockburn Sound.
In another matter, the court heard that Fisheries and Marine Officers apprehended three men at 4.30pm on Friday 6 February in a car park at Palm Beach. 20 crabs were found in a catch bag, located in the rear of a vehicle.
Shannon Lee Gilbert and Kevin Stephen Gould from Warnbro pleaded guilty to fishing for crabs during a closed period in Cockburn Sound and were each ordered to pay $814.20 ($300 fine, $400 mandatory penalty and $114.20 court costs).
Daniel Lawrence Ogilvie-Tait from Shoalwater did not enter a plea, but was fined $500 and also ordered to pay the mandatory penalty of $400 and court costs of $114.20 (a total of $1014.20).
In a separate case, Zhong Shao from Spearwood was fined $300, plus court costs of $114.20 and a mandatory penalty of $60, for the three crabs he was in possession of, after setting and pulling up two crabbing drop nets from a jetty in Cockburn Sound at Henderson between 6.20pm and 7.30pm on Saturday 28 March this year.
South Metropolitan Region Compliance Manager John Breeden today said too many fishers had recently been ignoring the current ban on crab fishing in Cockburn Sound and yesterday’s fines would be a strong deterrent to this illegal activity.
More details of all the rules that apply for crab fishing and other WA fisheries are available on the Department of Fisheries website at www.fish.wa.gov.au.
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