Two northern suburbs men have been hit with hefty fines over fishing offences.
A 68-year-old Westminster man was fined $3283 and lost his recreational fishing licence for two years for exceeding the catch limit of abalone and subsequently abusing Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development officers.
A DPIRD statement said the man, who did not appear at Joondalup court on July 7, was seen coming ashore on February 18 with 19 abalone in his catch bag, four more than the daily limit of 15.
He then verbally abused and threatened officers when they asked him to give his name and address.
In another case in court that day, a 36-year-old man from Quinns Rocks was ordered to pay $7700 after being found with undeclared rock lobsters on his vessel at Mindarie Marina on December 21.
According to DPIRD, the man had eight legal tail-clipped western rock lobsters in an esky on board but officers discovered eight lobsters that had been hidden and were not tail-clipped as required.
The offender had twice the daily bag limit of western rock lobsters, with officers releasing the eight illegal live crustaceans back into the water.
Regional compliance director Todd A’Vard said staff would hold offenders to account despite abuse or attempts to hide their catch.
“We have zero tolerance for those behaviours and the message from the courts is they will also ensure serious repercussions for those who try it on,” he said.