Fines issues for South West illegal abalone anglers

A pair of fishers who brazenly overfished and shucked abalone on the South West coast have been banned from taking the shellfish for almost 12 months. Mingyuan Li and Zhongtao Li were caught by Fisheries officers in February and found to be be overfishing and fishing without licences. When asked by officers how many abalone the pair had caught, they said 20. However, a search of the vehicle revealed an additional 20 abalone, found hidden in a raincoat, and a further 22 shellfish were found hidden in a wetsuit having already been shucked. The pair admitted to their deceitful fishing acts and have a history of taking undersized crabs, leading to an application from Fisheries to suspend their recreational fishing licences. Magistrate Benjamin Tyers fined Zhongtao Li $2000 and Mingyuan Li $2120. They will also lose their licences for 10 months.