Woman in bakery loses dough after ‘Operation Trinity’ abalone raid
14 May 2018
A woman has been fined more than $18,000 after a raid on her Kiama bakery saw her convicted of serious fisheries compliance offences for illegal possession of abalone.
Fisheries officers from the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Statewide Operations and Investigations Group conducted surveillance of illegal abalone selling and subsequently raided the bakery suspected of receiving black market abalone.
NSW DPI Director Fisheries Compliance, Patrick Tully said the officers seized 120 abalone (95 of which were of a prohibited size) from the 42-year-old woman who was charged with two offences under the Fisheries Management Act 1994: possessing more than the possession limit of abalone in circumstances of aggravation; and possession of prohibited size abalone in circumstances of aggravation.
The woman pleaded guilty in Port Kembla Local Court in April and was fined $8,000 for each offence. The court also imposed an additional monetary penalty of $2,028, valued at twice the monetary value of the abalone.
A male co-defendant alleged to have illegally supplied the abalone is set to appear in court again this month.
“The illegal abalone trade threatens the sustainability of this important recreational, commercial and culturally important species,” Mr Tully said.
“NSW DPI has produced a brochure to remind people and food retailers that possessing and/or trading in abalone can result in heavy fines, imprisonment and food safety concerns.
“Because abalone is considered a delicacy in certain countries, eventually we want to have this brochure translated into a range of languages.”
Mr John Smythe from the Abalone Association of NSW said the association supports the ongoing work of the department to protect abalone stocks and the production of the multi-lingual advisory material.
“Ongoing education is crucial to protecting our abalone resources and ensuring the safety of our community,” said Mr Smythe.
“Illegal marketing and harvesting of undersized abalone depletes the sustainability of the state’s abalone resources, impacts the health and safety of consumers, and harms the livelihood of legitimate abalone divers and those dependent on the industry.”
Anyone with information on suspected illegal fishing activity is urged to contact their local DPI Fisheries office, call the Fishers Watch phone line on 1800 043 536 or report illegal fishing activities online at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/compliance/report-illegal-activity
Media contact: (02) 6391 3686
