Geraldton fisherman fined $7000 after he was caught overfishing in Shark Bay

A 33-year-old Geraldton man has been fined more than $7000 after he was caught overfishing in Shark Bay last year and attempted to mislead investigators. Daniel John Mandosio appeared for a hearing at the Denham Police Station last Friday, entering endorsed pleas of guilty to exceeding bag limits on demersal finfish and providing provided false and misleading statements. Fisheries prosecutors told the court the man and two friends had been on a fishing trip in Shark Bay on July 25, when they were approached by compliance officers who found 22 fish on the recreational boat, exceeding the catch limit by seven. The man, who was the master of the vessel, told the officers the trio had been fishing for two days, but CCTV evidence provided by prosecutors showed this was false. The catch included nine Red Emperor, six Goldband Snapper, four Rankin Cod, two Pearl Perch and one Baldchin Groper. The three men were later contacted and declined to participate in interviews, leading prosecutors to charge Mr Mandosio as the master of the vessel. An impact statement from a Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development scientist highlighted the importance of carefully managing the commercial and recreational catch of all demersal scalefish in the region was accepted into evidence. “Any illegal recreational fishing is considered detrimental to the sustainability of demersal scalefish stocks in the Gascoyne Coast Bioregion,” the statement read. He was fined the mandatory penalty of $4,150, with the Magistrate also issuing a $3,000 fine for providing false statements during the investigation, and was ordered to pay $248.70 in costs.