As per the official information the Fisheries’ officers last month seized 337 illegal abalone and arrested several men. Three were allegedly caught with 99 abalone at Richmond Beach in the Murramarang National Park, north of Batemans Bay. As per the official version the trio are part of a syndicate operating at South Durras.
It is also reported that another three men were apprehended for allegedly possessing 90 abalone after being observed diving around northern headland of Cudmirrah Beach at Sussex Inlet. The official also informed that in another case two men allegedly in possession of 144 abalone were apprehended south of Bermagui.
As per government regulation the possession limit in waters open to the taking of abalone in NSW is two per person. The authority is now taking steps to stop commercial trawling and netting activities in the Jervis Bay Marine Park on the south coast. The Marine Parks Authority has drafted adjustments to the park which are on public exhibition for the next three months.
Its manager, Matt Carr, says commercial trawling and netting is currently permitted in two small areas of the marine park. He added that the proposal will be to prohibit trawling for those two areas and the Government has permitted to providing funding to buy out any commercial fishing effort that’s affected as a result of that change, although it sounds quite serious there’s only a very small number of commercial trawlers who would use the marine park but it is potentially quite a habitat damaging activity.
