Just saw this on Ninemsn

[kingcray]

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8456469/man-caught-with-600-times-legal-fish-limit

:o:o>:(>:(

[Fallen angel]

There is a fair amount of this going on up north just very hard to detect. Not surprised at all.

[Linedropper]

What a Scumbag.

[mylestom]

I reckon he got off a bit easy, confiscate his boat and everything else including his vehicle. No sympathy for the blood mongrel.

[Basstones]

I reckon he got off a bit easy, confiscate his boat and everything else including his vehicle. No sympathy for the blood mongrel.
+1

I'm amazed at those flathead fillet numbers though. At 2 fillets per fish that ends up at 25 flathead a day for 8 weeks, plus the rest of his catch. Just wondering how accurate the numbers are, or how bad he is at filleting flathead :P

[fishfeeder]

piss poor fine.... he would have had to be selling them or why would you have that much..

Should have taken his car, boat, all his fishing gear at his house... then thrown his pathetic ass in jail..

This is nothing but a slap in the face of all the people who do the right thing and follow the rules..

[Fafnir]

Yeah agree with the other comments on here. I see that the maximum fine is up to $100,000. Makes you wonder how badly you need to have rorted the system to get the maximum fine if this guy only got $10,000.

[Si]

how many flathead fillets can you eat really. on selling them for sure.

[pipifin]

Dont think I would be too keen on munching on an eight week old flathead fillet

[MEG-A-BITE]

I agree 10 000 is not enough should have got a bigger fine...

[kingcray]

Should be 100k + ALL the fishing gear he owns at least. Time to get serious against these maggots.

[Gon Fishun]

Maybe he is a six pak short of a carton. 8 weeks = 56 days + 5 fish a day = 280 fish= 560 fillets. :-?

[tunaticer]

I wonder if they noticed the gill net he was possibly using?? Damn that's a big haul of fish.

[choppa]

The fisherman had 2915 pieces of flathead fillet


I'm sorry,,, but never let a good story or the facts get in the way of media,,,, I'm reading pieces,,,, NOT fillets,,,


The man also had 98 goldenline whiting, which exceeded the bag limit of 30.,,,,,, again,,, no notice on what "AGE" these 98 whiting are or "size",,, just a figure of 98

the guy pleaded GUILTY,,, and was fined ,,,,

some of you "may" recall a thread I started over a court case in the same court that involved an undersized crab being caught ,,, but upon capture it fell from the "dilly/pot" and scurried under the seat on a tinny,,,, Rangers got him at the ramp trying to dig the feisty bugger out from his hiddey hole,,,

this case is not being defended by myself,,, just making a few observations and doing some background research ,,,, just watch what you have in the bait bucket when you call into this ramp,,,,

[Jarrah Jack]

In Vic he would have lost his boat and gear and if they had caught him while he was towing the boat his car would've gone as well. Some guys had their boat confiscated, which the court can return when the case comes up, for catching about 20 snapper over the limit.

[Yellowjack]

This wasnt mentioned in the article but all the flatties were taken on 1 Zman Plastic...

just saying ;D

[ShannonR87]

Also his boat license should be permanently disqualified. That's just ridiculous.

[Fallen angel]

Still Choppa

He his over the bag limit in both species, well and truly over with regards to flathead.

Not saying there are some unfortunate bookings, but this guy got busted.....

I have seen time and time again rorting of the system and fisheries not being able to do anything as their hands are tied behind their back because of a loop hole. That many loop holes it is not funny.

At time of having so many pieces of flathead fillet, he mustn't of had a clear understanding of what "in your possession" means.

[MudRiverDan]

Say he had way over half a tonne of fish..
Must have been driving a refrigerated truck/van.

Hardly a rec fishos setup.

Dan

[Fallen angel]

Dan

I have seen purpose built refrigerated boxes with snap freezers for trips up the gulf, and they would come back full.

If you go to Karumba, because of the in possession bag limit pallets of fish would be sent out through the cold stores back to families down south. The same used to happen up at Weipa.

Unfortunately The recreational sector can not pick and choose who is within their clan, the same goes for the commercial sector, there are bad eggs in both.

The one thing that stands to stop this action that both sides are guilty off, is severly under staffed and resourced. Until this is area is bought upto scratch will continue to hear stories like this.

Anyway my opinion and what I have seen over the years

[choppa]

Still Choppa

He his over the bag limit in both species, well and truly over with regards to flathead.

Not saying there are some unfortunate bookings, but this guy got busted.....

I have seen time and time again rorting of the system and fisheries not being able to do anything as their hands are tied behind their back because of a loop hole. That many loop holes it is not funny.

At time of having so many pieces of flathead fillet, he mustn't of had a clear understanding of what "in your possession" means.


I am bewildered on where FILLET comes into this thread,,, the court found him guilty on "pieces",,, the report also states that he was over the "bag limit" of Goldenline Whiting,,,, but no age of the fish,,

WE in Qld also CONFISCATE boat/car/trailer/gear,,, believe me,,, I have actually sat and been a respondent in one of these cases

What I'm trying to say here,,,, its funny how most replies are throwing the book at this perpetrator,,,but the FLATHEAD SIDE OF THE SENTENCE WAS BASED ON "BAIT",,, hence why he got a smaller fine

once more,,, our "legal" system failed,,,, because the "offending" items were "counted",,, but not kept,,, the judiciary had no option but a lower end fine

1 Z Man Plasic,,,,,, ????????????

[kingcray]

Say he had way over half a tonne of fish..
Must have been driving a refrigerated truck/van.

Hardly a rec fishos setup.

Dan

Dan, going by this..
"The fisherman had 2915 pieces of flathead fillet in his boat when he was intercepted by inspectors in August last year."
That to me appears they got him while still in his boat..

The wording is rather poor in the article too. "pieces of flathead fillet" could mean a number of things. Who knows for sure they were all flathead fillets even.

I think he may have just caught between himself and whoever the whole 98 whiting over the 8 wks and tried to make it home with them.. As for the flatties, whether it was 3000 or 300 chopped up 10 times.. its just ridiculous

Deano

[Lovey80]

Choppa and Kingcray are right the article is rubbish.

Choppa, what does it matter what age the Summer whiting are? There is a 23cm size limit and a in possession limit of 30. I admit, QLD fisheries need to pony up and sort their sh!t out with the use of the word "bag" in their writing. How long has it been an in possession limit? And bag limit is still all over the fisheries website. Even if it is just for the members of other states that grow up under the daily bag limit rules. Just a google of Goldline Whiting shows a "bag" limit. http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/28_15013.htm

I am not condoning this to ANY degree as it is obviously an intent to flaunt the law, but fisheries need to get some professionalism and fast.

[Fallen angel]

I think we are all arguing about semantics here, the guy got done for more than what he was allowed for. Again this is a common thing for tourists coming back from the gulf country and from far north, majority just don't get caught.

No sympathy from me and good on the fisheries for catching the guy.

[Fallen angel]

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?183967-Flathead-slaughter-delivers-hefty-fine-(pic-of-fillets-included-with-this-post)

A picture of the catch

[johncar]

Disgusting stuff, the fine is substantial but not enough IMO. Keep in mind though that this is one bad example of an unlicenced fisher being greedy. Not a true Rec fisher, shouldn't be refered to as a "Rec Fisher" at all because he is not, but a pro without a licence. The commercial catch makes this look like loose change and goes on day and day out. I think I heard 65 tonnes of fish through the Sydney fish market daily. Easy to see why the fish stocks are struggling, makes me feel sick.

Make me even more sick when I see our local seafood supplier dump tray and trays of reef and other fish fillets on a regular basis being excess to sales.


Quote: "SFM sells around 2700 crates at every auction, or 65 tonnes of fresh seafood every day".
Every Day!!

[GraemeW]

Choppa and Kingcray are right the article is rubbish.

Choppa, what does it matter what age the Summer whiting are? There is a 23cm size limit and a in possession limit of 30. I admit, QLD fisheries need to pony up and sort their sh!t out with the use of the word "bag" in their writing. How long has it been an in possession limit? And bag limit is still all over the fisheries website. Even if it is just for the members of other states that grow up under the daily bag limit rules. Just a google of Goldline Whiting shows a "bag" limit. http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/28_15013.htm

I am not condoning this to ANY degree as it is obviously an intent to flaunt the law, but fisheries need to get some professionalism and fast.

As quoted from Recreational fishing rules for Queensland
A brief guide
2011–2012 (current as of 1 February 2012)

A bag limit (take and possession limit) is the total number of fish that one person can legally take and keep at any one time.

A ‘bag limit’ refers to the total number of fish an individual can legally take and have in their possession at any one time—it does not apply on a per day basis. This includes the fish you have caught previously that are in your freezer at home.

[SgBFish]

Should be 100k + ALL the fishing gear he owns at least. Time to get serious against these maggots.

Agreed. Plus put him in jail until he eats them all, raw. He'll never look at a flathead again...

[Basstones]

That is an interesting point though about the bait aspect. I'm sure most of us at one point or another have turned a legal catch in to bait, one fish chopped up could suddenly put you over the limit based on this.

[choppa]

Angler fined 10K over bag limit breaches

Posted April 25, 2012 08:55:45
Map: Bowen 4805 (http://maps.google.com/?q=-20.0152,148.2464%28Bowen%204805%29&z=5)

A recreational fisherman has been fined $10,000 in a north Queensland court after pleading guilty to possessing excessive amounts of fish.
The fisherman was intercepted by Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol officers on the Bruce Highway near Bowen and had his vehicle searched.
He was found in possession of nearly 3,000 pieces of flathead fillet.
The legal bag limit is five.
He also had 98 whiting, nearly three times as much as the legal bag limit permits.




the story is getting more and more diverse,,, initially he was picked up at the ramp,,,, now it's on the Bruce Highway,,,, the picture of the catch has the "pieces/fillets " laid out in rows of 10,,,, and there's under 1000 in the pic,,,, 99% of all media reports are word for word (copy/pasted) except for this one that I can find,,, and its too early to read the actual court hearing as they take ages to post,,, Once more however he is guilty and pleaded guilty,,,, the above reports and all others that I have read fail to say if the "pieces/fillets" where stored in an esky, in such as manner that would "presume" were for consumption or crab bait,,, and even though I have enlarged the pic as much as I can,,, I don't see any whole fish (whiting) which going via the reports one would again presume where not part of the "pieces/fillets"????


$10,000.00 fine,,, he'll offer to pay it off,,, $1.00 a week for the next 20 years

[fisher28]

Disgusting stuff, the fine is substantial but not enough IMO. Keep in mind though that this is one bad example of an unlicenced fisher being greedy. Not a true Rec fisher, shouldn't be refered to as a "Rec Fisher" at all because he is not, but a pro without a licence. The commercial catch makes this look like loose change and goes on day and day out. I think I heard 65 tonnes of fish through the Sydney fish market daily. Easy to see why the fish stocks are struggling, makes me feel sick.

Make me even more sick when I see our local seafood supplier dump tray and trays of reef and other fish fillets on a regular basis being excess to sales.


Quote: "SFM sells around 2700 crates at every auction, or 65 tonnes of fresh seafood every day".
Every Day!!

::)::)::)::)::)::)::)::)::)::)

::)

[kingcray]

Angler fined 10K over bag limit breaches

$10,000.00 fine,,, he'll offer to pay it off,,, $1.00 a week for the next 20 years

Would be 200 Years ::):o

[GABBA110360]

Disgusting stuff, the fine is substantial but not enough IMO. Keep in mind though that this is one bad example of an unlicenced fisher being greedy. Not a true Rec fisher, shouldn't be refered to as a "Rec Fisher" at all because he is not, but a pro without a licence. The commercial catch makes this look like loose change and goes on day and day out. I think I heard 65 tonnes of fish through the Sydney fish market daily. Easy to see why the fish stocks are struggling, makes me feel sick.

Make me even more sick when I see our local seafood supplier dump tray and trays of reef and other fish fillets on a regular basis being excess to sales.


Quote: "SFM sells around 2700 crates at every auction, or 65 tonnes of fresh seafood every day".
Every Day!!


Surely you cant be serious in drawing a comparison between this subject and legitimate commercial sales through SFM .
But on that note if they are selling 65 tonnes a day then someone other than yourself must be eating it ?
would that be fair to assume?

[Fallen angel]

My sources tell me that he was from Sydney and was a grey nomad... Fisheries where tipped off.

[GABBA110360]

My sources tell me that he was from Sydney and was a grey nomad... Fisheries where tipped off.

obviously a creature of habit i'd guess

[choppa]

If you google:" Fishing Fines Queensland," or "Fishing Fines Western Australia" etc etc ,,, you will be surprised at the number of offences,,,, such as this one to give you a comparasion if you think this posts topic has not been fined enough


Fishing haul attracts $7000 fine

News release | 25 January, 2011

A recreational fisher, who hid a total of 656 whiting fillets and 43 portions of flathead in two locations, has been fined $7000 by the Ayr Magistrates Court for two separate fisheries offences this month.
The fisher concealed some whiting and flathead fillets in his caravan and stashed the remaining fillets in a freezer at a separate location.
In a separate incident, a married couple have been fined $1500 each for hiding 253 whiting fillets in their caravan freezer.
Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol (QBFP) District Officer Robert Ibell said these cases highlighted the need for fishers to know the rules, particularly the rules about take and possession or bag limits.
"In June last year we received a complaint from a member of the public about a fisher which led us to execute a search warrant at a local caravan park," Mr Ibell said.
"We found the fisher had a total of 31kg of whiting and flathead fillets.
"The fisher was fined for possession of 298 whiting over the bag limit of 30, and possession of flathead that were divided into 43 portions in a way that they could not be easily identified by an inspector to count the number of fish.
"The married couple had been travelling near Proserpine with their caravan when they were stopped and their vehicles searched following a complaint made by a member of the public."
Mr Ibell said both defendants were both fined for possession of 67 whiting over the bag limit of 30.
"A bag limit (take and possession limit) is the total number of fish that one person can legally take and keep at any one time.
"It is important for fishers to remember that this limit applies to fish that are also in their possession in their home, on their boat or in their esky."
Mr Ibell said these cases were a timely reminder to all fishers about the importance of knowing the rules.
"Our fish stocks are an important resource and rules are in place to protect our fisheries for future generations to enjoy.
"Species such as whiting and flathead are extremely valuable to the recreational and tourism industry in the Burdekin area and rules are in place to protect the sustainability of this stock."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I understand that the amount of Flathead is considerably smaller in value that the original post amount,,,, but the whiting numbers make up for the difference,,,, out of all the actual convictions that are on Google Search,,, the majority for Qld is Northern,,, there are some that are certainly mid/southern areas,,, but far more in the North and effect both "locals" and tourists alike

"wonder what the legal termination of "portions" are,,,, I have "portions" in my freezer right now,,,, and some are flathead,,, (frames that are cut in half for crabpots,,,, BUT i suppose you could turn them into Fish Stock or Soup?????)

choppa

[kingcray]

"wonder what the legal termination of "portions" are,,,, I have "portions" in my freezer right now,,,, and some are flathead,,, (frames that are cut in half for crabpots,,,, BUT i suppose you could turn them into Fish Stock or Soup?????)

choppa

Yea interesting point. I must say i would have had max total flathead / whiting fillets in the fridge along with possibly dozens of frames still in the freezer kept for crab bait.