Fisheries Officers have seized a 575 metre illegal fishing net from Mooney Mooney Creek in NSW.
Officers patrolling the area recently located the net and after conducting surveillance intercepted a commercial fisher who arrived to check the net.
The net was not marked with the fisher’s details, had been set in excess of the permitted 3 hours, the fisher lacked a required by-catch discard chute on board his vessel and had failed to lodge a pre-fishing report prior to setting the net.
All fish found in the net were returned to the water and the fisher is expected to be issued court attendance notices for a range of offences that attract maximum penalties of $44,000 or 12 months imprisonment.
