Cairns fisherman fined for shark fins

A CAIRNS professional fisherman caught with 78 shark fins intended to split any cash made from the illegal haul among his crew.

But instead, Matthew Nicholas Van-Ree, 37, was fined $4000 in Cairns Magistrates’ Court yesterday after pleading guilty to three breaches of fishing licence conditions.

Van-Ree was caught in Mooloolaba on January 27 last year with the 78 shark fins on board, without the bodies.

Under Queensland law aimed at preventing the cruel practice of shark finning, it is illegal to retain the fins and throw back the bodies.

“I know what I did was wrong,” Van-Ree, who was the skipper of the vessel, said.

“Years ago we used to be able to take fins off sharks. Those sharks affect my fishing, as well as the people at the beaches because they are pushing the bigger sharks into shore.”

He told the court he stood to make about $1000 from the 24kg haul, and intended to split the money evenly among the crew.

The bodies were not retained because they would not fit on the boat, he said.

Commenting on the case, Mark Lewis, co-owner of Cairns-based seafood exporter and importer Seafresh Australia, said the act was not only morally wrong – it made no sense.

Mr Lewis, whose business specialises in shark products, said the value of the bodies far exceeded that of the fin.

“People who chuck trunks (shark carcases) over the side are plain ignorant and stupid,” he said. “They deserve to be fined to the absolute max … it gives the industry a bad name.”

He said Australians consumed so much shark it needed to be imported, and any going to waste was disappointing for the domestic industry.

Cairns and Far North Environmental Centre marine campaigner, Steve Ryan, said it was good to see the system “working at some level

http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2010/06/25/115355_local-news.html