Man Fined for Online Sale of Gill Nets

[Gad]

Taken from FW email newsletter

29 May 2014

A SYDNEY man has been fined and placed on a 12 month good behaviour bond for attempting to sell illegal fishing gear online.

NSW Department of Primary Industries Acting Manager Special Operations, Mathew Richardson said the fishing community needs to be aware that fisheries officers use highly sophisticated methods to detect illegal fishing activity, including investigating online.

“Following an anonymous report from a member of the public, fisheries officers discovered a man from Rockdale had listed illegal gill nets for sale on a popular online sales website,†said Mr Richardson.

“The man faced Sutherland Local Court and was found guilty of three counts of failing to make a record of a sale of commercial nets and selling a commercial net to a person who was not a commercial fisher.

“The man was convicted, fined a total of $2000 and placed on a good behaviour bond for the next 12 months.

“The magistrate said the maximum fine for these offences was $44,000.

“This demonstrates to the fishing community that the use of prohibited fishing gear is not tolerated in NSW.â€

Mr Richardson said people who are unsure about the legality of fishing gear they are considering buying, selling or using should check with their local fisheries officer.

“Using gill nets is prohibited in NSW as they are an indiscriminate and destructive form of fishing,†Mr Richardson said.

“Gill nets also pose a serious threat to the sustainability of fisheries in NSW, particularly threatened species and immature fish.â€

Detailed information on fishing rules and use of legal fishing gear can be found in the NSW Fishing Guides, available online, from DPI fisheries officers and from most bait and tackle stores.

Anyone with information about illegal fishing should contact the Fishers Watch phoneline on 1800 043 536 or make a report online athttp://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/compliance/report-illegal-activity.

[ellicat]

Heaven forbid (or Nirvana for the secularists), another blow to the Australian manufacturing sector ! :silly:

Good to see.

[rayke1938]

I reported similar ads with a Qld based seller to Qld fisheries and then the minister several years ago with no action.

Cheers

Ray