Two idiots go home with a 20 grand fine! Two recreational fishers have been convicted and fined $23,450 in total in the Cleveland Magistrates Court for illegal crabbing offences. Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol (QBFP) officer James Hohenhaus said they were each fined $11,450 with one of the men fined an additional $550 for obstruction. “QBFP was on joint patrol with the Queensland Police Service when they spotted a vessel retrieving sunken crab pots with a grappling hook from the Toondah Harbour Public Boat Ramp at Cleveland,” Mr Hohenhaus said. “As the officers approached, one of the men on board began to throw blue swimmer crabs into nearby mangroves. We retrieved the crabs and found they were all undersized. “Inspection of the vessel revealed a number of illegal fish including 10 female mud crabs, 10 undersize blue swimmer crabs, five undersize yellowfin bream and one undersize male mud crab. “The men had used 19 crab pots that day, which was 11 more than the limit for two recreational fishers (the limit is four per crabber). “The pots were not tagged with a name and address, and did not have floats attached as required by law. “The men admitted they knew the seafood caught was undersized, as they had used a measuring device onboard. “The vessel and seafood were seized as part of the investigation. “Given the blatant disregard for fishing rules, the magistrate indicated the vessel should be forfeited, however the men unfortunately did not own it so it will be released on this occasion.”
Posted on: Fri, 27 Sep 2013 01:23:12 +0000
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