Three abalone poachers fined after raiding a Mornington beach for their New Year’s Day feast
Four men have given a festive explanation after they were spotted poaching a commercial quantity of abalone from a Mornington beach in the dead of night. But a magistrate took a dim view.
South East
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Three abalone poachers have been hit with big fines after they were caught stealing the precious shellfish from a Mornington beach in the dead of night.
The thieving trio were nabbed by alert rangers on Boxing Day last year, and tried to explain their fishy exploits by saying they wanted the molluscs for a New Year’s Day feast.
A fourth offender was a visiting family friend, who has now gone back to Vietnam.
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Cao Chung Nguyen, 44, Huy Tran, 41, and Trung Than Nguyen, 43, all pleaded guilty to six charges including obstructing officers and taking commercial quantities of abalone at Dromana Magistrates’ Court on Thursday morning.
The court heard at around 11pm on December 26 last year the four of them drove to a Mornington car park, armed with backpacks, knives and screwdrivers.
For one-and-a-half hours they poached the prized shellfish from rocks in very shallow water near the beach before filling two bags and walking back towards their car.
But at 1.10am a pair of alert fisheries officers came across the thieves and asked them to stop to be searched.
One ran off into the water and one tripped as he tried to abscond, while the other two fled in the opposite direction, hiding in nearby scrub and leaving their ill-gotten gains behind.
All four were soon caught.
Inside two bags was 125 abalone, of which 54 were under the minimum size.
The bag limit per person is just five, and abalone can’t be taken in less than 2m of water, nor at night.
In court their defence lawyer said the men, all of Vietnamese origin and without any related priors, weren’t aware of the strict requirements around taking abalone.
Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge said shellfish stealing was serious.
“Abalone is a community resource … it is a crime against the community,” Mr Lethbridge said.
“Illegal removal and trafficking of abalone is recognised as a major threat to fisheries.
“The cost to the community from illegal fishing is high.”
He said people can, and have been, jailed for similar poaching crimes, and warned the trio any repeat would mean prison time.
All three were convicted and fined $3500.