A Dawesville woman has voiced her outrage after finding 15 cooked undersized crab shells at the beach on Monday morning.
Tracey Marinkovic said it was not the first time she has found undersized crabs at Island Point in Herron.
“I find them all the time,” she said.
“On this occasion, I found 15, but I only took photos of a few because the rest were smashed up.
“These people have no regard of the law or land.”
Ms Marinkovic said the smallest shell was 80 millimetres, much smaller than the 127 millimetre legal size.
She said people cooked the crabs after they were caught using the barbecue facilities.
The grandmother of seven worried about future generations.
“I think the fines should be higher – what they are doing is illegal,” she said.
Mandurah District supervising fisheries and marine officer Jay Tonkin said there were eight full time officers patrolling the area.
He said additional officers from other regions were called to increase patrols through busy periods.
Mr Tonkin said infringement fines for taking or possessing undersized blue swimmer crabs ranged from $200 through to $1,000 per person, depending on the number of crabs.
“More serious offences are prosecuted in court, with penalties up to $5,000 for each offence, plus a mandatory $50 per crab penalty and any associated court costs,” he said.
Mr Tonkin said 156 infringements, 119 warnings, and 10 people were prosecuted for undersize crab offences last season.
“So far this season,14 infringements and 12 warnings have been issued and processed, predominantly for the possession of undersize crabs,” he said.
If you see something involving fish or fishing that doesn’t look right, call 1800 815 507 which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Visit www.fish.wa.gov.au for information. For size limits visit this link.