FISHERIES officers will prosecute three men and fine 10 abalone catchers from Saturday’s fishing session for the prized shellfish along the Perth coast.
Officers will allege two men, whose suburbs and ages were undisclosed, had 84 Roe’s abalone, of which 17 were under size, before they provided false details.
At an undisclosed location, it will be alleged another man had 124 Roe’s abalone, five of which were under size, in his car.
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READ NOW“The possession limit is 20, so in this case there were 104 abalone in excess of the limit, before all 124 abalone were seized,” the spokesman said.
The officers also issued 29 warnings to people with more than the limit, 17 for under-size abalone, and one for fishing after the 8am deadline.
There were 10 fines of between $200 and $1000 issued for having more than the daily bag limit, possessing under size abalone and not having a licence
This season, Surf Life Saving WA launched a safety campaign after getting the number of catching days reduced and moved to when there were more lifesavers on Saturdays.
A SLSWA spokeswoman said there were three rescues, three people who needed first aid and 30 incidents last Saturday. “It was a safe and successful morning,” she said.
The remaining abalone fishing hours of 7am to 8am are on February 3 and 17.
Safety advice is at www.mybeach.com.au/abalone. Details on where you can go and licences are at www.fish.wa.gov.au.