Geraldton Magistrate Court has found that fisherman guilty of illegal hauling and hit him with $83,073.90 in fines and costs. Presiding Magistrate Steven Sharrat heard that 52-year-old David Lake, from Kalbarri, was caught in possession of the illicit haul of fish by Fisheries Officers in Kalbarri in July 2007. The court said that he had embarked on the fishing trip from Carnarvon, some 400 kilometres north of Kalbarri three days before, in what was described as a deliberate attempt to avoid his contravention being detected.
According to the fisheries officers they have recovered a laptop computer from Lake several days later, which he had denied having in his possession when initially apprehended and questioned. Forensic computer experts were able to retrieve data, which had been hastily wiped off the laptop by Lake and which gave fishing excursion coordinates critical to his conviction.
Department of Fisheries’ Gascoyne Region Acting Compliance Manager Peter Johnsen said the case was a significant victory against illegal fishing activity in the Shark Bay area and sent out a strong message to anyone thinking of trying to buck commercial fishing rules. He said that pink snapper is a limited natural resource and the rules around commercial fishing are there in place to ensure everyone can enjoy this fish for the future – commercial fishers who get greedy are effectively stealing from Western Australians and have to pay the appropriate penalty.
After Mr Lake had pleaded guilty to the offences, Magistrate Sharrat ordered him to pay $67,400 for the volume of fish in his possession, a $7,000 fine for the breaching of the licence quotas and $8,673.90 in costs, including $5,911.90 for the cost of recovering data wiped by Lake from his laptop.
