As per the report the fisherman used an illegal trap to catch undersized rock lobster near Nelson and was caught by the official. After pleading not guilty in Warrnambool Magistrates Court on Thursday, Jay Alan Howard, from Worrolong, near Mount
Gambier, altered his plea on Friday following strong evidence from two Portland fisheries officers and slapped fine of $15000. The paper said that the 36-year-old, who operates his mother’s rock lobster licence, was fined $15,000 and ordered to pay $5800 in legal costs, charged with loading rock lobster in an unauthorised trap (breach of licence condition), using unauthorised fishing equipment and taking undersized male rock lobster.
Portland fisheries officers got a tip off and found a lobster pot registered to Howard with nine undersized male rock lobsters trapped inside. Department of Primary Industries senior fisheries officer Charlie Cooper said the trap, or “coff”, had been sealed top to bottom with chicken wire, closing the open space which allows undersized lobster to escape.
After much debate over the case magistrate Jonathan Klestadt question Cooper about altered coff. Cooper replied that in 33 years as a fisheries officer he had never seen a lobster fisherman set up or frame another. After Howard altered his plea, Klestadt handed him an aggregate fine of $15,000, plus $5800 in legal and service costs. All seized commercial fishing gear was forfeited and the magistrate told Howard any future offences would lead to a jail term.
