Former Geraldton cray fisherman Sam Vincent Basile cops $8 million penalty for ‘worst’ case of rock lobster overfishing

A former Geraldton cray fisherman has been slapped with almost $8 million in penalties for catching thousands of rock lobsters above his quota — the “most significant penalty ever bestowed on a commercial fisher” in WA history. Sam Vincent Basile, a third-generation member of a Geraldton fishing family after which Basile Island in the Abrolhos chain was named, was today ordered to pay $302,498 in fines, penalties and court costs in Perth Magistrate’s Court today. He also lost his fishing entitlements which were estimated to be worth $7.5 million. The penalty came after he pleaded guilty to 17 charges of intentionally or recklessly contravening the west coast rock lobster management plan. Basile, who was investigated for three years and was originally facing 101 charges, took 3000kgs more rock lobster than he was entitled to from waters near the Abrolhos Islands, in an area known as Zone A, across three fishing seasons between 2013 and 2016. He had falsified records to say he caught the rock lobsters in Zone B, where he was supposed to fish under the terms of his licence. Prosecutor David Leigh said the scale of the offending was vast. “This is the worst instance of offending against the management plan the department has ever seen,” he said at a hearing earlier this month. Fisheries officials first interviewed Mr Basile in 2014, but his offending continued until 2016, when updated technology meant all the GPS data from his boat, Aurora, could be tracked. Defence counsel Simon Freitag said there was no suggestion Basile’s actions had damaged the fishery. He said Basile, who first started working on his father’s crayfishing boat as a schoolboy, had already forfeited his licence and would never work in the industry again. Mr Freitag said Basile had made some wrong decisions in situations of high emotion, stress or drug dependency. He had been impacted by his father’s illness and death, soon followed by the death of his best friend. Sentencing Basile yesterday, Magistrate Matthew Walton agreed his crimes were “deliberate, calculated and sustained”. Mr Walton said general deterrence a relevant factor in imposing a significant fine. “The preservation of rock lobster fishing is paramount for the community of WA and the ongoing viability of a valuable economic resource in WA,” he said. “The preservation of stocks is critical.” However Mr Walton noted Basile had been declared a drug trafficker in 2016 and “that may mean any possible payment of these penalties might be largely speculative”. Mr Walton refused to order the forfeiture of the $380,000 made from the sale of the vessel after it was seized — saying the fishing licence was held by a trust and innocent third parties, including Basile’s sister and his late father’s wife, would be affected. Fisheries Minister Peter Tinley said he hoped the penalty would send a message to the industry “that we won’t take cheats lightly”. “He will lose a $7.5 million entitlement to access that fishery, he will also be fined a further $302,000. This culminates as the most significant penalty ever bestowed on a commercial fisher,” Mr Tinley said. “The natural resource of WA, in this case the lobster biomass, is the property of everybody in WA. As the Minister I am responsible for making sure it is equitably shared by all users. “The McGowan Government won’t countenance crooks and cheats who want to steal off the people of WA.”