Company fined nearly $7000 for lobster quota mistake

A Geraldton-based company has been fined almost $7000 for mistakenly taking western rock lobster above its quota.

Peter Groom, a director of Sanwood Nominees Pty Ltd, pleaded guilty in Geraldton Magistrate’s Court last week to contravening a provision of a management plan, specified in the plan to be an offence.

The court heard the company, which holds a managed fishery licence, took 88.1kg of lobster above its quota in the 2013-14 season.

Lawyer George Giudice, representing Mr Groom, said his client was relatively new to the lobster fishing industry, buying pots in the past seven years and operating the fishing business as a family enterprise with his son, who was master of the vessel.

Mr Giudice said Mr Groom kept good records of catches, but entries for one day had not been recorded due to an administrative error.

Mr Giudice said the Department of Fisheries, in interviewing Mr Groom, acknowledged it was an honest mistake.

Mr Giudice described Mr Groom as a respected member of the Geraldton community, who was of good character and who had learnt his lesson.

He said Mr Groom had established a settlement agency that had been operating for the past 19 years in Geraldton and for the past four years he had served as State president of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers.

He was also on the AIC national council and was a member of the Towns Football Club committee.

“It’s the bottom of the scale in seriousness, in terms of the amount of kilos over, it being an honest mistake and posing unlikely risk in future,” Mr Giudice said.

Magistrate Ed de Vries told Mr Groom he accepted the breach was an oversight.

“But you know why the laws are in place — to protect the rock lobster industry,” he said.

“I recognise it was not a deliberate act, not motivated by greed, and was simply an oversight.”

He fined the company $2500, along with a minimum mandatory penalty of $4405, plus court costs of $1230.60.