A recently retired fisheries officer fears poaching will “get worse” amid enforcement officer job cuts across Victoria.
Last month, two licensed commercial fishers from New South Wales allegedly took close to 800 kilograms of abalone from a Victorian marine park before selling the shellfish.
The men were seen by Victorian and NSW Fisheries officers allegedly using their 7.3-metre commercial fishing vessel to take a large quantity of abalone in the Cape Howe Marine National Park near the Victoria–NSW border.
Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) chief executive, Travis Dowling, said the men held an abalone quota in NSW but were not licensed to fish commercially for abalone in Victoria.
“We allege that the men gave false information about where the abalone were caught and they removed the mandatory tracking devices from their boats prior to engaging in this activity,” he said.
“800 kilos, for commercial divers, is a day out. They can take that quite easily.
“It is a large number of abalone, but these are professional divers with assisted air devices; it’s not like a couple of people walking into tidal zones and illegally taking abalone.”
All forms of recreational and commercial fishing are prohibited in marine national parks and sanctuaries.
The Cape Howe Marine National Park is protected from fishing. (Supplied: Victorian Fisheries Authority)
Criminals emboldened, says former officer
On the last weekend of June in north-east Victoria, three men were also found by the VFA allegedly in possession of 20 Murray crays on the Goulburn River, when the bag limit is two.
Authorities allege some of the crays were undersized, others oversized, several were carrying eggs, and prohibited nets were being used.
The men will be fined up to $3,000 for the offence.
The VFA says crayfish poaching is more common over winter. (Supplied: Victorian Fisheries Authority)
The alleged poaching comes as the VFA reduced its overall staffing by 50 per cent, and slashed the number of compliance officers across the state from 73 to 35.
Recently retired senior fisheries officer for north-east Victoria, Greg Sharp, said the known lack of compliance officers had emboldened illegal behaviour.
“It’s no surprise. With the VFA cutting their staff numbers, it’s inevitable that poaching will increase, and this is just a sign of it,” he said.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg. Crayfish have always had a really poor compliance rate and, with fewer staff, it’s going to be worse.
“From Wodonga to Mildura, there will only be two staff now, over a distance of about 700 kilometres, and Bendigo, our third-biggest population centre, will only have one officer. The numbers are devastating.
“You have to have an effective compliance program to deter offending.”
But the VFA’s Travis Dowling disagreed.
“We have got fantastic coverage and unfortunately there will always be a few people who want to continue to pervert our laws and attack the sustainability of our fisheries,” he said.
“There’s not a lot of deterrent you can put in place.
“Whether it’s boots on the ground or fines, it comes down to really good work by our officers in picking up these individuals and making sure the offending behaviour stops.”
Mr Dowling said more than 90 per cent of people obeyed marine laws.
“Every year in cray season, during June, July and August, we’ll have a small element that will go up to the rivers, and they think that bag and size limits don’t apply to them,” he said.
“We catch these guys, and our officers are really good at identifying what people might be concealing.
“There has been a heightened focus on people’s offending because of the fact we’ve gone through a restructure within the organisation, but there is no evidence to suggest that offending has increased.”
Travis Dowling says the majority of fishers are doing the right thing. (Supplied: VFA)
Big haul
Mr Dowling said 800kg of abalone would be worth at least $32,000.
“This depends on whether they’re exported or domestic sales. It can range from $30–40 a kilo,” he said.
“These are really serious offences. Trafficking a commercial quantity of abalone in Victoria can result in thousands and thousands of dollars in fines.
“It’s also an indictable offence, punishable with up to 10 years in jail, so these are really serious offences we’re alleging.”
