Haul of whiting nets $1500 in fines

An illegal catch of 184 silver whiting from Cunningham Pier has cost three men almost $1500 in fines, according to Victoria’s fisheries department.
Their combined catch was more than three times the daily limit of 20 each, fisheries said.
Fisheries officers busted the trio on Sunday morning after a tipoff on 24-hour hotline 13FISH.
“The officers began monitoring the men and shortly after 11am one of the trio returned to a car carrying a large white bucket.
“All three men then continued to fish for another 40 minutes and were watched as they caught more fish,” a Fisheries statement said.
“When they packed up and returned to their vehicle with their fishing rods and a blue bucket they were intercepted by the fisheries officers as they began to drive away.”
A search of the car found 90 whiting in one bucket and 94 in the other, Fisheries said.
Each angler would be fined $466 each.
Fisheries officer Ashley Virgona said large number of families and groups were catching fish on the pier.
“But it was also disappointing to see some anglers becoming greedy and exceeding the catch limit,” Mr Virgona said.
“Anglers are reminded that, although there appears a large aggregation of silver whiting in the area, they must be aware of the catch limit of 20 silver whiting per person per day.”