Nabbed with 100s of illegal crabs

A call to the Fishers Watch hotline by a concerned member of the public has led to the apprehension of three men and one woman from Auburn in joint possession of 133 prohibited size blue swimmer crabs measuring between 4.1cm and 5.5cm at Lake Wollumboola on the NSW South Coast.

The call was made to the hotline on about 9am on Sunday January 31, 2016, immediately sending alerts to Shoalhaven Fisheries Officers. They attended the lake shortly afterwards and located the people.

Continued patrols of the area on that day also located a man from Liverpool in possession of 73 prohibited size blue swimmer crabs measuring between 4.2cm and 5.8cm and a man from Campsie in possession of 57 prohibited size blue swimmer crabs measuring between 4.2cm and 5.5cm.

Charges are pending for all the fishers and include take more than daily bag limit, possess more than the possession limit, possess prohibited size fish and fish without paying the recreational fishing fee.

Recreational fishers must not take more than 10 blue swimmer crabs per day or possess more than 20 at any time and their minimum legal size limit is 6cm. There are restrictions on permitted fishing gear and areas where you can fish for crabs.

Additionally, two men from Nymboida and Coutts Crossing have been apprehended by Fisheries Officers in joint possession of 56 mud crabs.

Fisheries Officers encountered the men at a campsite on the Sandon River within the Solitary Islands Marine Park during the early hours of Wednesday February 3, 2016.

A search of the campsite by the officers located the crabs contained in two tubs and a cast net was also found in the camp. The use of cast nets and possession of them adjacent to NSW waters is illegal. All crabs were returned to the water alive and the cast net seized. The possession limit for mud crabs is 5 per person and not more than two traps can be used (or in possession) by any person at any one time.

Charges are pending. The maximum penalty for exceeding possession limits is $44,000 or 12 months imprisonment or both and the maximum penalty for possession of a cast net adjacent to the water is $22,000 or 6 months imprisonment or both.

In NSW, you should report illegal crabbing to your local DPI Fisheries office or by contacting the Fishers Watch Phone line on 1800 043 536 or online using this form.