Commercial crabber Vu Van Nguyen fined after sacred site breach in Blue Mud Bay

A commercial mud crabber has been fined $2000 after dropping anchor inside the boundaries of a sacred site.

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A COMMERCIAL mud crabber has been fined $2000 after dropping anchor inside the boundaries of a sacred site in Arnhem Land’s in Blue Mud Bay.

Vu Van Nguyen was found guilty in the Darwin Local Court of working on a sacred site without a valid certificate from the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (AAPA).

In a statement, an AAPA spokeswoman said Nguyen had anchored his mothership at the mouth of the Koolatong River before commencing his crabbing operations in October 2019.

“Northern Territory Police saw Mr Nguyen’s vessel anchored in the mouth of the Koolatong River,” the statement reads.

Vu Van Nguyen was found guilty of working on a sacred site without a valid AAPA certificate. Picture: Matt Garrick

“The police took photographs and obtained the GPS co-ordinates of Mr Nguyen’s ship and his operations.

“Police also showed Mr Nguyen maps with the boundary of the sacred site and others within Blue Mud Bay.”

The spokeswoman said Nguyen was provided with information about sacred sites near commercial fishing areas when he first applied for approval to operate under the Fisheries Act.

“Mr Nguyen signed a document stating he understood his obligations with regards to sacred sites,” she said.

“For Aboriginal land, there is an onus on a person conducting work to ensure they do not enter or work on a sacred site without the approval of an Authority Certificate.”

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Originally published as Commercial crabber Vu Van Nguyen fined after sacred site breach in Blue Mud Bay