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Alleged Abalone Poachers Caught At Cape Conran

A call to the fisheries offence reporting hotline 13FISH, late on Tuesday night, resulted in Fisheries Officers catching two people allegedly preparing to illegally harvest abalone at Cape Conran.

By Department of Primary Industries - 24th June 2005 - Back to News

It will be alleged that Fisheries Officers searched a vehicle and found dive equipment associated with night diving.

The equipment included a camouflage wetsuit, underwater torch, commercial dive bags and two dive tanks, worth approximately $4000.

It will also be alleged that one of the offenders was in breach of a court order made under Section 130 under the Fisheries Act.

Such orders may be made by a court where an individual has been convicted of serious Fisheries offences. Conditions imposed may include prohibitions in relation to the possession of certain equipment and proximity to Victorian marine waters.

Peter Courtney, Gippsland Operations Manager for Fisheries Victoria said the equipment located in the vehicle and the time of the night the alleged offenders were detected demonstrates they were trying to avoid detection from Fisheries Officers and preparing to take a large quantity of abalone.

Two men from New South Wales will be charged on summons to appear at a Magistrates Court at a later date.

"This result demonstrates that Fisheries Victoria is committed to protecting the wild population of abalone in Victorian waters by detecting serious offenders and apprehending them before they can enter the water and cause large amounts of damage to the resource."

"People should be reminded that penalties for involvement in abalone poaching are quite severe and include large fines, imprisonment and seizure of assets," Mr Courtney said.

Members of the public who observe any apparent illegal abalone activity in Victorian Waters are reminded to call 13FISH (133 474) at any time of day, seven days a week.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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