EDEN, Australia (7 Apr 2002) -- A diver caught poaching abalone on the New South Wales far south coast has been fined and jailed. Fisheries officers caught the diver stealing 66 abalone near Greencape, south of Eden. With two previous convictions for poaching, the diver, age 37, was sentenced to one month in jail and fined $1,000. The latest poaching case follows several in which convicted abalone poachers received severe punishment. Far south coast abalone divers say the jail sentence sends a strong message to would-be poachers. "Going to jail for 66 abalone on a third offence I would imagine would be a great deterrent," said local abalone diver and abalone management advisory committee member John Smythe. "What also would be a deterrent is the lengths he has gone to and he has still been able to be apprehended by the fisheries officers. | | Abalone poacher "This guy did go to extremes to try and hide himself and he still came unstuck so he might have been doing it for a while, but they eventually got him, so I think it would make people think twice," Smythe added. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
