From the Department of Primary Industries

Tuesday February 19 2008

NATIVE FISH THIEVES LAND STIFF PENALTIES

Four people facing a number of charges involving the illegal taking of native fish were engaged in an organised fishing operation, the Sunshine Magistrates’ Court was told yesterday.

The defendant, 3 men and one woman from Braybrook, Footscray and St. Albans were charged with using commercial fishing equipment to catch Murray cod and golden perch in Lake Mokoan last May.

They were also charged with taking undersize fish, exceeding the catch limit and dealing in property reasonably suspected of being proceeds of crime.

They all pleaded guilty and were fined a total of $3,000, ordered to pay costs of nearly $3,000 and compensation totalling more than $14,000.

Magistrate Toohey said it was important the sentencing acted as a deterrent. In addition to imposing fines, the Magistrate ordered the forfeit all of the fishing equipment used, including two boats.

One defendant, who had a prior conviction, was also effectively prohibited from fishing in inland waters for 5 years.

Prosecutor Ian Parks, told the court the four were caught during an intelligence led investigation codenamed Operation Beecham.

During a 3 day surveillance operation the four were seen using a large number of set and long lines in the lake.

The operation saw the seizure of a large quantity of Murray cod and golden perch as a result of the execution of three search warrants in Melbourne.

The Murray cod were very large brood fish weighing up to 22 kilograms each. The conservative replacement value of the fish is $13,884.

Mr Parks told the court Victoria Police forensic experts were able to directly link the offenders to the illegal fishing equipment.

The day after the defendants’ interception, fisheries officers spent over six hours retrieving the illegal fishing equipment from the lake.

The Senior Fisheries Investigator for northern Victoria, Steve McMonigle, said there had been increasing demand for high value fish like Murray cod in some Melbourne communities.

“Murray cod is an iconic Australian fish which has been heavily impacted upon since European settlement and is subject to tight controls designed to ensure its sustainability,” Mr McMonigle said.

“The increased demand is leading to increased illegal fishing effort and an increasing presence of higher level criminals usually associated with other valuable species such as abalone.”

Anyone wishing to report Fisheries offences should contact the 24 hour fisheries hotline 13-FISH (13 3474)