A Springvale shop-owner has been ordered to pay more than $30,000 in fines and costs after being convicted of trafficking a commercial quantity of abalone.
Victorian Fisheries Authority investigators had accused the man of receiving 10 kilograms of shucked abalone meat and a greenlip abalone.
He’d allegedly paid unlawful divers $900 for the abalone in a multi-storey car park.
VFA education and enforcement director Ian Parks said investigators found some of the catch during an inspection of the man’s retail outlet.
The man made full admissions, Mr Parks said.
Melbourne Magistrates Court convicted and fined the man $25,000. He was also ordered to pay $6500 in costs.
Mr Parks said the significant penalty should deter retailers from buying seafood from illegitimate, unauthorised sources.
“Abalone are particularly vulnerable to people using guises such as recreational fishing to take them for commercial purposes.
“Under the Fisheries Act, abalone are a priority species and subject to higher levels of protection to ensure wild stocks remain sustainable.”
Only holders of commercial fishery access licences are permitted to take fish, including abalone, for sale from Victorian waters, Mr Parks said.
To report illegal fishing, call the VFA’s 24/7 reporting service 13 FISH (13 3474).
