Illegal fishers fined, and will lose car and boat

East Gippsland’s estuaries are special places, and most people do the right thing by fishing responsibly there. However, some individuals don’t care about preserving the fishery, and often find themselves on the wrong side of the law.

This was the case when two men and a woman have been fined a combined $24,000 and had their car, boat and trailer forfeited for using a large illegal net to take 100 fish in a remote East Gippsland river last year.

In May 2022 Mallacoota Fisheries Officers responded to a report of three people using a long mesh net at Furnell Landing on the Cann River. The officers found hidden in the bushes, a mesh net more than 40 metres long and two coolers - one containing 70 fish and another 30. Most of the fish were bream and mullet, with some estuary perch and flathead.

Director of Education and Enforcement with the Victorian Fisheries Authority Ian Parks said the use of long mesh nets posed significant threats to local ecology.

“This type of activity has the potential to impact fish stocks when used indiscriminately, particularly in small estuary systems,” he said.

Mr Parks said after being alerted to the matter last year the investigating officers obtained a search warrant for several residential addresses and subsequently seized illegal fish traps, a boat and trailer, and a 2019 model Mercedes dual cab worth more than $60,000 combined.

He said all three offenders were dealt with recently in the Bairnsdale Magistrates Court.

“In December, one of the men pleaded guilty to several fisheries offences and was fined $4,000,” he said. “[In February] the second man and woman, who have prior convictions for similar offending, pleaded guilty to several offences too.” numbers of

Mr Parks said the man was fined $12,000 and the woman $8,000. Convictions were recorded and the pair were banned from fishing for two years. Their Mercedes, boat and trailer were ordered to be forfeited by the magistrate who said it would act as a message to others that if they engage in this type of activity they will be seriously penalised.

Mr Parks thanked the members of the community for reporting the suspicious activity.

If you see or suspect illegal fishing, you can call the VFA’s 24/7 reporting service, 13FISH (133474), to speak directly to a Fisheries Officer. – Victorian Fisheries Authority