Two Newcastle men each face a $44,000 fine after they were caught with a commercial quantity of lobsters.
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The men were among 10 people who were recently apprehended in a series of covert and overt operations into illegal fishing in NSW.
It is alleged the men employed a counter surveillance technique where they launched from the boat ramp at Boat Harbour and undertook their alleged illegal activities out at sea.
A male passenger was then dropped with the esky containing all lobsters at the beach at Fishermans Bay approximately 1.8km west of the boat launching location.
Fisheries Officers from Statewide Operation and Investigations Unit believe this was a form of subterfuge used to avoid detection.
The owner-driver of the vessel then returned by boat to the launch location having no knowledge that his co-offender had been apprehended with the contraband catch of lobster.
It is Illegal to sell any recreationally caught fish, including Eastern Rock Lobsters, and it is also illegal to buy or sell Eastern Rock Lobsters not legally caught by licenced commercial fishers with NSW Department of Primary Industries lobster tags attached.
The NSW lobster fishery is a highly regulated, share managed quota fishery. It is a small but valuable industry with a gross value of around $11.5 million.
Two men were fined more than $40,000 after they were found guilty of trafficking Eastern Rock Lobsters in Newcastle in June last year.
The 56 year-old and a 25 year-old man, both from Harrington, were arrested in the car park of a fast food restaurant in Wickham.
Department of Primary Industries estimated the lobsters were worth about $3800 on the black market.
A man from Towradgi was also allegedly found taking too many lobsters from Wollongong Harbour recently.
The man was apprehended and he later made admissions about the illegal possession of 17 lobsters. He now faces charges of possessing a commercial quantity of a priority species, which carries a maximum penalty of $44,000.
NSW director of fisheries compliance, Patrick Tully, said the SOIG teams were working with local fisheries officers using a wide variety of sophisticated investigation techniques.
"We have had some great results across NSW on the North Coast, Illawarra, Hunter and South Coast. We have a range of surveillance technologies available to us and we're employing them across the state, he said.
"The vast majority of fishers do the right thing but unfortunately there is a small minority that does the illegal fishing and those responsible need to think about whether they're being watched by our fisheries officers."
Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly has worked as a journalist for more than 25 years. He has been working as a general reporter at the Newcastle Herald since 2018. In recent years he has reported on subjects including environment, energy, water security, manufacturing and higher education. He has previously covered issues including the health and environmental impacts of uncovered coal wagons in the Hunter Valley, the pollution of legacy of former industrial sites and freedom of information issues.
Matthew Kelly has worked as a journalist for more than 25 years. He has been working as a general reporter at the Newcastle Herald since 2018. In recent years he has reported on subjects including environment, energy, water security, manufacturing and higher education. He has previously covered issues including the health and environmental impacts of uncovered coal wagons in the Hunter Valley, the pollution of legacy of former industrial sites and freedom of information issues.
