Fed-up Victorians have applauded fisheries officers for apprehending a group of shellfish poachers in a small town, but say more needs to be done to stop the mainly-immigrant offenders.
The Victorian Fisheries Authority said this week a tip off from a member of the public had helped officers in South Gippsland catch four people who were harvesting bucketload of cockles from McLoughlins Beach.
The group had nearly six times the catch limit of cockles in buckets they were concealing in bushland, and when officers intercepted their car they found 47.5kg of the shellfish in the boot – far more than the 2kg/person legal limit.
The cockles were returned to the water alive, and a retention notice was issued for the car while a brief is prepared for prosecution, with the four poachers now set to face court.
Many locals congratulated the officers on taking action, but said tougher penalties were needed to stop busloads of mainly Chinese visitors that are descending on beaches across the state and stripping them of marine life.
One man told Noticer News “you can’t find pipis anymore because Chinese coming from Melbourne have destroyed whole colonies … first they did it to their country, now they’re doing it to ours”.
“Only got four, there are 400 here every weekend,” said another.
“Great News! The same thing happens in Venus Bay every weekend too!” a third said.
“Wish the same happened at Nelson, cant find a pipi after bus loads cleaned them out week after week until there was none,” another Victorian said.
Many others called for hefty fines, the impounding of cars, and the revocation of visas.
Illegal fishing in Victoria is punishable with fines of up to $120,000 and jail terms of up to 10 years, but on-the-spot fines are commonly handed out for first-time offences.
Similar behaviour from immigrant scavengers dubbed “bucket people” at beaches near Auckland led to the New Zealand government earlier this year announcing a ban on seafood gathering along a long stretch of coastline.
Header image: The illegal catch (Victoria Fisheries Authority).
