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Fisherman caught out at Nelson

Posted on November 14, 2009, 9:09am and updated on November 15, 2009 at 9:51 am

A Port MacDonnell man is the first commercial rock lobster operator from the South East of South Australia to have his boat seized for illegally fishing in Victorian waters for nearly 30 years.

The 54-year-old professional fisher faces likely charges after fisheries officers from Portland seized his boat on Thursday after discovering 14 illegal rock lobster pots two kilometres from the Glenelg River mouth.

The commercial fisher, who is expected to face a Victorian court over what has been described as a serious offence, had no licence to fish in Victorian waters.

Fisheries Victoria officers were alerted to the alleged illegal activity after a tip-off from the public.

The Victorian rock lobster fishing season does not open until November 16.

The offence comes amid rock lobster catch rates in South Australian waters being among the lowest in the history of the fishery.

It is understood some fishermen in South Australia are only hauling in 10kg from some days out to sea, compared with 60kg during a bumper year.

Commercial fishers have been fetching prices around $50 per kilogram.

Fisheries Victoria senior fisheries officer Charlie Cooper said he believed the alleged offender, whose name has not been released, was the first to be caught illegally fishing in Victorian waters from South Australia since 1980.

“It has been a long, long time,” Mr Cooper said.

Regarding the alleged incident, he said fisheries officers did not know what the motivation behind the offence was.

“Victorian fisheries officers seized the 14 pots,” said Mr Cooper, who explained no lobsters were found inside the pots.

He said officers also undertook a conditional seizure of his commercial boat.

“This is a serious offence; he had no licence to operate in Victorian waters,” Mr Cooper said.

He said the alleged offender would likely to appear in a Victorian court.

“We will develop a brief of evidence to submit to court,” Mr Cooper said.

“The fisherman was detected after a call was made by a member of the public to Fisheries Victoria’s reporting hotline.”

He said there were up to 14 licensed Victorian rock lobster boats that operated from Port MacDonnell, but the fisherman detected had a South Australian licence only.

Mr Cooper said Fisheries Victoria was working to create a more viable and sustainable future for all rock lobster fishers.

“It’s important that we protect our rock lobster stocks and the closed season has been determined to protect the species during the breeding season,” he said.

“In a bid to further protect our rock lobster stocks, the Victorian Government recently reduced the total allowable catch in the western zone.”

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