From the Department of Primary Industries

Friday August 22, 2008

ABALONE THIEF FINED $5000 IN FRANKSTON COURT

A South Gippsland man has been convicted and fined $5000 after pleading guilty to taking 57 abalone, at Mornington in June.

Magistrate Ross Betts told Van Chi Trinh, 43, he may have imposed a $20,000 fine if the
defendant had not entered a guilty plea.

The court heard Trinh, from Berry’s Creek, was intercepted by Fisheries Officers as he carried two plastic bags, containing the stolen abalone, to his car.

The offences occurred during the closed season for abalone and Trinh did not have a recreational fisher’s licence.

Fisheries officers testified that 41 of the 57 abalone were below the legal size limit of 10
centimetres.

Trinh was watched as he used a screwdriver and his hands to remove the abalone from a rocky reef near The Esplanade in Mornington.

Magistrate Betts said it was a very serious offence and fined him $5000 as part of an aggregate order.

The Director Field Services Fisheries Victoria Michael Hodder said those who illegally fish
jeopardise the sustainability of our recreational fisheries.

“Daily recreational size and catch limits are in place to ensure our fisheries resources are shared, and are available now and in the future.”

Members of the public who see any illegal fishing activity are urged to use the 24 hour reporting line, 13FISH (13 3474) to report the offences.