Nicholas Michael LUCAS, 50 yrs old, of Bunbury has been ordered to pay more than $20,000 for breaching a licence condition and contravening an order, when fishing in the Vasse Estuary, near Busselton. He didn’t attend the court but entered an endorsed plea of guilty. According to the court the fisherman was given a global fine of $1,000 on the two offences, which means he also has to pay additional mandatory penalties related to each of them.
Additional mandatory penalties of $9736.65 were applied to each of the two offences and based on the weight of the 954 mullet that were seized by Fisheries and Marine Officers. In total, he will be required to pay $20,592.50 for the fine, the penalties and court costs. The court said that the fisherman’s fishing boat licence states “no river or estuarine fishing” and he was therefore not entitled to fish the waters of the Vasse Estuary.
Nicholas later admitted that he set nets in the Estuary on Wednesday 8 September, with the intention of catching mullet for bait, but (contrary to a legal requirement to remain within 100 metres of nets set for fishing) he had left the area and returned to Bunbury. Supervising Fisheries and Marine Officer Kevin Johnson said the fine and penalties were significant and reflected the seriousness of the offences.
