Fisheries media release - Boat seized for illegal whiting haul

[fishingvic]

Fisheries media release - Boat seized for illegal whiting haul

BOAT SEIZED FOR ILLEGAL WHITING HAUL AT ST LEONARDS

Most recreational fishers do the right thing and abide by catch limits that keep our booming whiting, snapper and calamari fisheries sustainable however three men have been apprehended at St Leonards and had their fibreglass boat seized for allegedly taking more than the daily bag limit of King George whiting.

Director of Education and Enforcement at the Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) Ian Parks said the trio were observed retrieving their boat after catching a quantity of whiting, travelling to a nearby house, then relaunching their boat to continue fishing in the same spot.

“The three men returned to the boat ramp in the early evening and were intercepted by Fisheries Officers a short time later, back at the nearby house, where they presented a quantity of whiting for inspection,” Mr Parks said.

“Enquiries saw more whiting produced from the house and confirmed as catch from that day. In total, the three men had allegedly taken 68 whiting over two trips on the same day, with one allegedly catching 38. The daily bag limit for King George whiting is 20 per person.

“All fish, fishing gear and the boat were seized on the spot.

“Recreational fishers are reminded that bag limits are personal, you can’t catch fish on behalf of others, and it is illegal to sell your catch.”

Mr Parks said this apprehension led to a Lygon Street restaurant in Carlton where 25kg of illegitimate King George whiting and 58kg of calamari were allegedly uncovered.

“The whiting and calamari could not be substantiated as commercially sourced product and were seized by Fisheries Officers,” Mr Parks said.

“It will be alleged a document to account for the whiting was falsely created by a seafood wholesaler at the request of the restaurant.

“The proprietor and company associated with the restaurant will face charges relating to the sale of recreationally taken fish, providing false documents and information, and other significant offences under the Fisheries Act. A seafood wholesaler will also face charges relating to the creation of a false document connected to the whiting.”

If you see or suspect illegal fishing, call our 24/7 reporting service, 13FISH (133474), to speak directly to a Fisheries Officer. You can remain anonymous. Make the call and make the difference.

Joel Peterson

Senior Communications Advisor

Victorian Fisheries Authority & Better Boating Victoria

0436 623 647

joel.peterson@vfa.vic.gov.au

vfa.vic.gov.au
betterboating.vic.gov.au

[Paulanderson]

Great to see this happening.

Is there a lot of this going on around St Leonards area?

[Lightningx]

Great job by fisheries!

[denis barden]

Ha Ha Ha
Good to see Fisheries doing a top job
A stern sentence sends a clear message to others

[hornet]

Seems to be a few involved ? I wonder how long this has been going on ? it's a back door business for sure... throw the book at all of them.

[4liters]

Great to see this happening.

Is there a lot of this going on around St Leonards area?

Last year I saw a bunch of them cruising around on jetskis checking people

[Nude up]

My mate got stopped and checked at queenscliff last week. He was squid fishing after work. Talking to the fisheries officer about illegal fishing they knew how much per kilo each species were selling for on the black market. Good to see they are prosecuting all parties in this instance great work by fisheries

[rb85]

Organised crime demand and supply. These people will just get another beat up boat and start again.

Harsh penalties to the restaurant’s could stem demand making it less profitable for the poachers.

[brother_stern]

I know my comments might run against what most people here feel, but trust me, its not because I am on the poachers' side, but because as a former paralegal overseas I know how bad runaway law enforcement can be and is concerned that we could be heading in the same direction.

1) Were the boat and gear seized because they were 8 fish over the daily limit (3x20=60, and they had 68) or because they were catching fish for sale? Seems perfectly justified if they were selling fish, might be over the top if they slightly exceeded their daily catch limit.

2) The Fisheries searched the fishermen's house and discovered more fish allegedly caught the same day. Did the Fisheries officer have a search warrant for the house itself ( I know they can search people's cars) or do they not need one? How did the Fisheries officer determine that the fish were bay-caught and not bought in the shop and if so were caught on the same day? Did they have experts arrive and do the test or is it just a single Fisheries' officer opinion that led to serious charges?

"The whiting and calamari could not be substantiated as commercially sourced product..." Do we have to prove now that the fish we have in our homes are commercially substantiated (I do not mean mean fish in boats or esky's, It kind of hard to imagine that someone with an esky full of whiting out on a boat, have bought it from fish a market)? That is not how the law works at all, we do not have to prove our innocence, courts have to prove our guilt.

3) Fisheries claim that one person caught 38 whiting and shared his catch. Did they clearly film the fisherman in question catching 38 legal-sized whiting on a boat in the middle of PPB, really? Or did they film him catch 38 fish? Or did they film him catch 38 whiting and throw out 18 undersized ones?

4)How did the Fisheries uncover the restaurant connection? Did they seize the fishermen's mobiles? Did they demand the passwords for the mobile's? Do they even have power to do that? I do believe that people can be incredibly stupid, but all these alleged poachers had to do, was to shut up and not admit to anything and they would have gotten off quite lightly, so either these men were retards, Vic Police was involved, or Fisheries have got powers as great or greater than police with a potential for misuse of said powers.

P.S. I got no problem at all if Fisheries can provide proof of misdeed and if Vic Police were involved, I am just worried where we might be heading if Fisheries powers were unchecked.

[denis barden]

brother-stern
What a load of rubbish you have said
Its easy If you dont like the Fisheries powers- DONT FISH