MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Convicted “Maya V” crew leave Australia.
Nearly all of the crew members arrested aboard the Uruguayan flagged longliner “Maya V” will leave Australia within 72 hours, a court was told today (April 1, 2002) in Perth, Western Australia.
The 32 men, all who pleaded guilty, would face more serious fines if caught illegally fishing in Australian waters again, Magistrate Jones read to the packed courtroom as he handed down individual $AUD 1,000 fines and 5 year $AUD 5,000 bond sentences.
Charging, fining and imposing a future bond that was payable or else imprisonment, was a message to crews of fishing vessels who would consider, or become involved in illegal fishing, the Magistrate told the court during sentencing.
Illegal fishing was a serious matter with escalating consequences, he told the convicted men, and Australia took fishing and other interests - including upholding licensed management systems - extremely seriously in the southern ocean, as with all its waters.
The Commonwealth was forced to raise charges against crew as previous deterrence had not worked, he said, and the costs were not just to the environment, but in the surveillance and apprehension of illegal activity.
Magistrate Jones said all of the boat's crew had to accept responsibility for their part in the illegal fishing, and if they wanted to avoid the pitfalls described in their defence arguments, should become more vigilant in accessing information from senior officers and employers in the future. Phillip Laskaris for the 32 Chilean and Uruguayan nationals, asked the Magistrate to clarify some comments made in sentencing the men, particularly those related to being in Australia's EEZ. Mr Laskaris said it was "not a crime for a fishing vessel to enter the AFZ," and suggested that if he did not clarify the remark, there was a danger that it "overstates the position of the law." He said this may have come from interpreting Justice French's decision in the Volga. Magistrate Jones clarified that he was speaking "in the context of illegal fishing" inside any Australian Fishing Zone. Earlier he had told the convicted crew that being charged was not abnormal under Australian law, and happened to illegal fishermen from countries such as Indonesia. He said the Crown could have prosecuted under a lot heavier law where the fines were up to 10 times higher reaching $AUD 270,000 each.
Three men who have pleaded not guilty had earlier had their matters adjourned under the same bail conditions, for another two weeks. Although many felt the charges were wrongly brought against them ? with the senior officers only previously charged - like many Australian nationals weighed the advantage of a ?guilty' plea to speed up delivery of an outcome in a crown case that argued strict no liability on knowledge of boat position.
There was a more relaxed atmosphere in the same court where weeks earlier tension had been high as fishermen stated their frustration at being charged and held from their families and homes.
Supporters of the crew getting home to their family, including support staff from Uruguayan and Chilean consulates, were happy that the function of getting the men back to their families was nearly over. At least half were due to leave Australia within 24 hours, the court was told.
Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators member Austral Fisheries' David Carter said the fines, in addition to the charging and subsequent conviction by plea was "a great message to send." "Crew are equally culpable, and that deterrence was jail and some time spent around Perth reporting to police". "It reflects a strong statement about the high cost of patrolling these areas," Mr. Carter said.
"The deterrent effect of charging and prosecuting crewmen involved in illegal fishing has been used in other fisheries around Australia, and it is good to see a consistent approach being taken by the Government to eliminating illegal fishing in our waters." CEO Austral Fisheries David Carter said.
Peter Collins, Perth, Western Australia
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