Sibi Pachayil Mathew fined $2500 in Fremantle Magistrates Court for catching nine times more mackerel than allowed

A fisherman has received a $2500 fine for catching nine times the bag limit at Coogee’s Ammunition Jetty. Sibi Pachayil Mathew pleaded guilty to the charge of fishing in excess of the bag limit at Fremantle Magistrates Court yesterday. A Department of Fisheries prosecutor said Mathew caught 81lt of scaly mackerel, when the daily limit was 9lt, on February 24. Speaking through a translator, Mathew said his wife was his family’s sole bread-winner and asked for a lenient sentence, claiming he regretted his actions. Magistrate Thomas Hall said the fine reflected he large number of fish caught.