Fisheries media release - Boat seized for illegal whiting haul

[fisho999]

I know my comments might run against what most people here feel, but trust me, its not because I am on the poachers' side, but because as a former paralegal overseas I know how bad runaway law enforcement can be and is concerned that we could be heading in the same direction.

1) Were the boat and gear seized because they were 8 fish over the daily limit (3x20=60, and they had 68) or because they were catching fish for sale? Seems perfectly justified if they were selling fish, might be over the top if they slightly exceeded their daily catch limit.

2) The Fisheries searched the fishermen's house and discovered more fish allegedly caught the same day. Did the Fisheries officer have a search warrant for the house itself ( I know they can search people's cars) or do they not need one? How did the Fisheries officer determine that the fish were bay-caught and not bought in the shop and if so were caught on the same day? Did they have experts arrive and do the test or is it just a single Fisheries' officer opinion that led to serious charges?

"The whiting and calamari could not be substantiated as commercially sourced product..." Do we have to prove now that the fish we have in our homes are commercially substantiated (I do not mean mean fish in boats or esky's, It kind of hard to imagine that someone with an esky full of whiting out on a boat, have bought it from fish a market)? That is not how the law works at all, we do not have to prove our innocence, courts have to prove our guilt.

3) Fisheries claim that one person caught 38 whiting and shared his catch. Did they clearly film the fisherman in question catching 38 legal-sized whiting on a boat in the middle of PPB, really? Or did they film him catch 38 fish? Or did they film him catch 38 whiting and throw out 18 undersized ones?

4)How did the Fisheries uncover the restaurant connection? Did they seize the fishermen's mobiles? Did they demand the passwords for the mobile's? Do they even have power to do that? I do believe that people can be incredibly stupid, but all these alleged poachers had to do, was to shut up and not admit to anything and they would have gotten off quite lightly, so either these men were retards, Vic Police was involved, or Fisheries have got powers as great or greater than police with a potential for misuse of said powers.

P.S. I got no problem at all if Fisheries can provide proof of misdeed and if Vic Police were involved, I am just worried where we might be heading if Fisheries powers were unchecked.

I can see the point you're trying to make, and I agree with some of it. but at the end of the day, 3 people caught 68 whiting and it's against the rules.
what happens if every fisho was to catch 8 more whiting every time they went out and caught their limit?

[brother_stern]

I can see the point you're trying to make, and I agree with some of it. but at the end of the day, 3 people caught 68 whiting and it's against the rules.
what happens if every fisho was to catch 8 more whiting every time they went out and caught their limit?

Oh I absolutely agree that those guys were in the wrong and legal limits and other rules have to be enforced. I am just worried about how much power Fisheries officers can wield and the limits of that power. By the way I had a chat with someone from the Fisheries and they said its 99% chance that those guys have themselves have told Fisheries everything they needed to know. Maybe its time Vic fishers had a lawyer give them a lecture regarding their rights where Fisheries are concerned.

[denis barden]

Brother-stern
You aint a Lawer so why do you try to preach to others
Try fishing

[canned_tuna]

Brother-stern
You aint a Lawer so why do you try to preach to others
Try fishing

He was almost one...

[fisho999]

Brother-stern
You aint a Lawer so why do you try to preach to others
Try fishing

he's just stating his opinion on the matter, just like you.

[denis barden]

fisho999
Dont get sucked in by the Brother -Stern
He hasent even caught a Fush

[fisho999]

he's still entitled to his opinion Denis barden.

[Tim399]

I know my comments might run against what most people here feel, but trust me, its not because I am on the poachers' side, but because as a former paralegal overseas I know how bad runaway law enforcement can be and is concerned that we could be heading in the same direction.

1) Were the boat and gear seized because they were 8 fish over the daily limit (3x20=60, and they had 68) or because they were catching fish for sale? Seems perfectly justified if they were selling fish, might be over the top if they slightly exceeded their daily catch limit.

2) The Fisheries searched the fishermen's house and discovered more fish allegedly caught the same day. Did the Fisheries officer have a search warrant for the house itself ( I know they can search people's cars) or do they not need one? How did the Fisheries officer determine that the fish were bay-caught and not bought in the shop and if so were caught on the same day? Did they have experts arrive and do the test or is it just a single Fisheries' officer opinion that led to serious charges?

"The whiting and calamari could not be substantiated as commercially sourced product..." Do we have to prove now that the fish we have in our homes are commercially substantiated (I do not mean mean fish in boats or esky's, It kind of hard to imagine that someone with an esky full of whiting out on a boat, have bought it from fish a market)? That is not how the law works at all, we do not have to prove our innocence, courts have to prove our guilt.

3) Fisheries claim that one person caught 38 whiting and shared his catch. Did they clearly film the fisherman in question catching 38 legal-sized whiting on a boat in the middle of PPB, really? Or did they film him catch 38 fish? Or did they film him catch 38 whiting and throw out 18 undersized ones?

4)How did the Fisheries uncover the restaurant connection? Did they seize the fishermen's mobiles? Did they demand the passwords for the mobile's? Do they even have power to do that? I do believe that people can be incredibly stupid, but all these alleged poachers had to do, was to shut up and not admit to anything and they would have gotten off quite lightly, so either these men were retards, Vic Police was involved, or Fisheries have got powers as great or greater than police with a potential for misuse of said powers.

P.S. I got no problem at all if Fisheries can provide proof of misdeed and if Vic Police were involved, I am just worried where we might be heading if Fisheries powers were unchecked.

These are all fair questions. Just like yourself, people on this forum (that I assume are not directly involved with this incident) do not know the answers to your questions.

Asking people that are not related to the incident that happened on that day, is not relevant to the conversation. It would all be hypothetical answers, which mean nothing. Perhaps the same words would have yielded more results if they were sent directly to fisheries or Vic Pol, then if there is still reason to be concerned, put it to the community.

IMO, in this report, if all the facts are correct, I see no foul play by the authorities. Without the facts to say there was a misuse of power, I do not believe there is cause to be concerned.

[brother_stern]

These are all fair questions. Just like yourself, people on this forum (that I assume are not directly involved with this incident) do not know the answers to your questions.

Asking people that are not related to the incident that happened on that day, is not relevant to the conversation. It would all be hypothetical answers, which mean nothing. Perhaps the same words would have yielded more results if they were sent directly to fisheries or Vic Pol, then if there is still reason to be concerned, put it to the community.

IMO, in this report, if all the facts are correct, I see no foul play by the authorities. Without the facts to say there was a misuse of power, I do not believe there is cause to be concerned.

It's not that I am asking fishermen about what happened, its that I am saying it might be a good idea to take things we hear with a pinch of salt, instead of just assuming Fisheries are always in the right and know what they are doing. We have to remember that we do have rights and authorities have to respect them and that those rights should be worth a lot more to us, than seeing poachers apprehended.

[brother_stern]

Brother-stern
You aint a Lawer so why do you try to preach to others
Try fishing

He was almost one...

You do not need to have a law degree to know that even police cannot search your house without a warrant, let alone Fisheries officers. No-one can enter your property without a search warrant unless they have been invited, which is probably what those idiot poachers done. But if Fisheries did just that and entered a property with no warrant, then I'd rather see the case thrown out and poachers go free, then tolerate heavy-handed approach by Fisheries.