Man charged over threats to Fisheries Officer

12 Aug 2021

A man has received multiple convictions and a hefty fine at Batemans Bay local court in relation to an incident at Depot Beach in 2018, including threatening a NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Fisheries Officer and obstructing their duties.

NSW DPI Director Fisheries Compliance, Dr Andrew Moriarty, said that serious offences such as this will not be tolerated and will be dealt with accordingly by authorities.

“The man was convicted of 4 offences and fined a total $4500 dollars plus a 12-month community corrections order,” Dr Moriarty said.

“Threatening a fisheries officer and preventing them from completing their duties is a serious offence and we will not tolerate this type of behaviour.”

The man was convicted and fined for the following offences on 27 May:

• Obstructing a Fisheries Officer in the exercising of function – failing to allow examination of fishing gear (Sequence 1) – fined $2,000.
• Threatening a Fisheries Officer – with a weapon, being an axe handle with a metal spike on the end (Sequence 2) – convicted and imposed a community corrections order for 12 months.
• Obstruction of a Fisheries Officer in the exercising of function – failing to allow seizure of a weapon used to threaten a Fisheries Officer (Sequence 3); and
• Failing to comply with requirement to provide information – fail to state name and address (Sequence 4) - fined $500.

“This sends a strong warning to anyone behaving violently or threateningly towards Fisheries Officers,” Dr Moriarty said.

“There are hefty penalties for these actions and the man will now face the consequences for his actions.

“If any illegal or threatening behaviour is witnessed, the public are urged to contact their local police.”

The public are encouraged to report illegal fishing activity to the NSW Fishers Hotline on 1800 043 536 or via the online Report Illegal Activity Form.

Media contact: 02 6391 3686