A Roleystone man was today ordered to pay a total of $20,611 to cover a fine, court costs and mandatory penalty, for unlawfully selling crabs he had caught in the Swan River.
In the Perth Magistrates Court, 64-year-old Kyran Richard Littleton pleaded guilty and was fined $2,000 plus costs of $569.20 for the illegal fishing and sale of blue swimmer crabs, discovered through a Department of Fisheries surveillance operation in March.
A Perth court was told that Littleton did not have a commercial fishing permit to take blue swimmer crabs from the Swan River, when he illegally sold more than 300 kilograms of them between the 26 January and 31 March this year.
Under Section 222 of the Fish Resources Management Act, he was also ordered to pay a mandatory penalty of $18,042 – ten times the prescribed value for the weight of crabs involved.
Littleton had previously worked as an authorised commercial fisher in the Swan River, which is part of the West Coast Estuarine Fishery. He sold his permit in December 2003.
Department of Fisheries Acting Regional Services Manager Tina Thorne said the fine and the additional mandatory penalty reflected the seriousness of the offender’s actions, as did the court order for Littleton to forfeit his vessel (plus trailer) and the ruling that he be banned from any fishing activity for twelve months.
“This type of illegal activity is not only a significant threat to the sustainability of WA’s fish stocks, it is also unfair on the recreational and commercial fishers who fish legitimately in the Swan River,” Ms Thorne said.
“The offender used highly effective methods and equipment, which enabled him to catch commercial quantities of crabs.
“Offences like this are also very difficult to detect and the extent of this one only came to light as the result of a covert operation by Fisheries and Marine Officers and their follow-up investigation of the offenders activities.”
Ms Thorne urged members of the public to report any illegal fishing and unlawful fish sales activity, by calling the Department’s FISHWATCH number 1800 815 507. The service operates 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
