THE possession of fish taken by unlawful methods undermines the objectives of the Fisheries Management Act 1994 and the principle of sharing a natural resource, magistrate Tony Murray was told yesterday.
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An impact statement on illegal fishing was tendered in the case of Ruth- erglen men Frederick Collins and John Collins.
“When persons are apprehended by fisheries officers and are found to be in possession of fish taken unlawfully, it is reasonable for fishers who abide by the laws to consider that they have been victims of crime,” it said.
There has been a prohibition on the use of fish traps in inland NSW waters for many years.
Fish traps frequently trap and drown air-breathing animals such as turtles, water rats, platypus and water birds.
Baited fish traps are illegally used to capture crayfish and yabbies.
The Murray crayfish is listed as “vulnerable” in the NSW Fisheries management Act 1994.
The species is listed as “threatened” in Victoria, “protected” in South Australia and “vulnerable” in the ACT’s Nature Conservation Act 1980.
Nationally the status of the crayfish is “indeterminate threatened” and internationally they are classified as vulnerable.
