JOONDALUP Magistrates Court has shown little mercy to a crayfishing husband and wife who were this week fined almost $47,000 for exceeding bag limits.
The fishers were 67 rock lobsters in excess of their combined daily limit of 16, when they caught 83 of the crustaceans in November 2015.
A Fisheries spokesman said officers accosted the pair after a three-day surveillance operation.
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“When approached by Fisheries officers upon their return, the couple attempted to tip the rock lobsters overboard, but were stopped in the process,” he said.
They pleaded guilty in court on Tuesday to obstructing Fisheries officers over the act.
The man pleaded guilty to exceeding the bag limit on the first two days of the operation as well as using more than the permitted two rock lobster pots on the first day.
The pair received spent convictions for the offences and were left with fines and court costs of $46,950. The court ordered the seizure of four cray pots used in the offence.