Fremantle fisher penalised for concealing excess over catch limits

A 47-year-old Fremantle man has been issued penalties and costs of more than $2,800 in Geraldton Court last week for exceeding the catch limit of demersal finfish, the Western Australia Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) said on Thursday, September 26.

A fisheries officer from the DPIRD uncovered the catch after inspecting a vessel when it returned to shore at Little Bay on April 4 this year. The man and two others on the vessel were found to have caught and retained six baldchin groper, four coral trout, and a WA dhufish.

WA’s boat possession limit for demersal finfish is four, so the master of the vessel’s catch had exceeded the limit by seven.

In a statement to the court, it was heard the skipper had admitted moving four baldchin groper and one coral trout from a kill tank on the vessel to a battery compartment in an attempt to hide some of the excess fish.

The man was issued a general penalty of $500 for the obstruction charge, a $1,000 fine for exceeding the boat possession limit for demersal finfish, a mandatory additional penalty of $1,071.20 for the fish involved, and costs of $272.70 – a total of $2,843.90.

The magistrate also prohibited the man from holding a Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence for a month.

The rules related to recreational fishing and information on the Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence can be accessed online, through the Recreational fishing guide 2024 on the Fisheries website, where it is possible to also search the rules by species and location.