Fisherman Fined For Fishing In Protected Area
Appearing in Magistrates Court this morning [Mar 20], a 39 year old fisherman was fined $500 after pleading guilty to fishing inside a Protected Area in December 2013.
Senior Magistrate Archie Warner heard that Fisheries Protection officers had found Michael Mendes anchored off near the North Rock beacon. They boarded his boat and confirmed to their satisfaction that he was fishing and their GPS locator confirmed that he was inside the Protected Area.
Mr. Mendes told Senior Magistrate Warner that he had been approached by Fisheries Officers on 14th December but that he had been told that he was being warned, and said that he was surprised that he had been put before the Court.
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What happened to the fella that was allegedly selling imported fish as local fish and the commissioner who allowed his dog to kill another?
Whose monitoring the guest workers catching all de small fish.
Ha haa what a joke! A $500 fine? And you wonder why some fisherman continue to flaunt the law – they can make several times this amount on the sale of one fish so what sort of deterrent is that?
Come on Environmental Protection (Govt) – get real with your penalties, you are either gonna have a BIG STICK (e.g. pull their license) and use it or don’t bother – rogue fishermen are laughing at you all the way to the bank!
One big rockie and his fuel and fine are covered. $500 isn’t a sufficient deterrent.
Buys just wanna gatt haidlines.
December.
Give me a break.
Bet he did not have 100lb of Raid Hind.
A**HOLES.
My point was that enforcement does not work that well on land.
So a guy is fishing 20′ inside a protected area.
Get real you guys.
F.)h him off get his details and tell him/her if I see you again.
My point was that some have nothing to do and have to justify.
Many won’t get it.
RIP Bermuda.
If I go to the grocery store and steal a Snickers Bar knowing full well that it is against the law and that the potential consequence is an appearance in court with fine etc, why would I act surprised when I get caught stealing that I have to go to court?!?! Jacka**.
You’d probably get a larger fine and/or time for stealing a Snicker’s bar than you would for fishing in a protected area!
Is the spot known for a substantial silk snapper population just off ferry reach oil docks off limits? I get confused and forgetful sometimes
Minimum fine for that crime is more than $500. This is an insult to the wardens who caught him stealing fish from our most internationally famous Marine Park. The judiciary needs to validate implementing that weak fine.
The fines were raised to a Max of $10000 specifically so that the first offense penalty would be punitive and not so miniscule as to be irrelevant. This sentence is contrary to the intent of our fisheries legislation.
The protected zones should be marked more clearly. If you don’t have GPS, it’s easy to make that kind of mistake. There is only one marker from what I understand, and the rest is imaginary. You have to guess where the outer boundary is. From what I understand, he was only 5yds inside the zone.
Why don’t they go after the guys who are going out with scuba gear who go down and steal lobsters from pots, and the guys who go out with no licence, and catch anything they want and sell it to the public?