Three recreational fishers have been hit with hefty fines totalling more than $5000 after being caught with undersized and protected fish during separate inspections by Fisheries officers in the Pilbara.
On February 22, a 56-year-old man and a 44-year-old skipper, both from Karratha, had their boat inspected while fishing in the Dampier Archipelago, and were found with eight barcheek coral trout, three of which were less than the legal minimum size of 45cm.
The skipper made an admission at Karratha Courthouse on May 20, that he had taken four of the barcheek coral trout, with recreational fishing rules only allowing a daily bag limit of one for the species.
Both men were charged with breaching size and bag limit rules. Each was fined a general penalty of $500 and an additional mandatory $1080 for the fish involved in the offences.
On the same day in Karratha Courthouse, a 60-year-old man from Toogoom, Queensland was fined $2229 for fishing offences on October 8 last year.
The court heard that the Queensland man was the only one on the boat, when Fisheries officers at the Johns Creek Boat Ramp in Point Samson checked it.
His haul included six blue tuskfish — three over the limit and all smaller than the 400mm legal size — as well as four western yellowfin bream, which also failed to meet the minimum 300mm size.
Regional Compliance North director Stuart McDowall said fishers should expect that Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Fisheries officers may inspect them at sea or at boat ramps.
“Fishers must make themselves aware of the rules prior to going fishing and ensure that they fish to bag and size limits,” he said.
The rules for recreational fishing are available in the Recreational fishing guide 2025 and information can also be found online by searching the rules by species and location.
