Rockingham: man fined thousands for taking undersized blue manna crabs

Bebe Lay Htoo pleaded guilty to possession of a totally protected fish – undersized crabs – when he appeared at Rockingham Magistrates Court last Friday, May 26.

The Fisheries prosecutor said Htoo was stopped at a roadside check point in Karnup at 11.35pm on December 17, 2016. He said Fisheries officers found in the boot of his car a container with 46 crabs, of which 42 were undersized.

He said there was a mandatory penalty of $50 per crab and a maximum fine of $5000.

Magistrate Vivian Edwards fined him $2100 for the total crabs and an additional fine of $1500.