Scores of illegal cockle poachers have been busted in Sydney and Wollongong with more than 6,000 of the shellfish, harvested from Lake Illawarra without licence and well in excess of bag limits.
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After being accused by local residents of spending too little time enforcing fishing rules, the NSW Fisheries office has responded by revealing details of recent compliance operations at the lake which resulted in 151 cockle related offences being policed, with 37 fines and 12 prosecutions commenced.
On Monday, January 4, surveillance at the shoreline in Berkeley found a group of people harvesting cockles then leaving in two cars. One group was followed to Belmore in Sydney's west, where Fisheries officers found 527 cockles. Two men, both from Belmore, are expected to appear in court charged with possessing more than the bag limit for cockles and failing to pay the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee.
The next day, after a call from the public to the Fishers Watch Phoneline, officers went to Koonawarra Bay near Kanahooka. Fisheries said six people were found collecting and allegedly in possession of 1122 cockles - this time with local residents involved.
Read more: Residents say cockle rules lack muscle
Three men and three women from Mount Pleasant, Broadmeadow and Sutherland are expected to appear in court charged with similar offences.
The busts were part of Operation Stingray 2, which follows a similar operation a year earlier targeting shellfish around Lake Illawarra. This one started last September, and had resulted in the seizure of at least 6222 illegally harvested cockles, Fisheries said.
A Fisheries spokeswoman said 960 fishers had been checked since September at Lake Illawarra, with a compliance rate of 81 per cent. But many people were also found to be breaking the law.
"The detection of at least 151 cockle related offenses around Lake Illawarra [resulted] in the issue of 102 written warnings for minor offenses, 37 fines totalling $16,100 in fines for moderate offences and the commencement of 12 prosecution actions for serious offenses," she said.
Mt Warrigal resident John Davey again spoke out this week, saying the reduction in bag limits to 20 cockles per person was not effective if it wasn't being policed. He said it was often residents who were intercepting over-collectors.
Illawarra and Shoalhaven supervising Fisheries officer Emma Corfield said there had been a presence at Lake Illawarra on "most days" since September.
"Those views that some individuals hold are certainly not the view of the larger community," she said.
"They're largely supportive, they see us around, they ring Fishers Watch to let us know useful information.
"The main compliance issue for us is cockle collection at Lake Illawarra and that is where the main effort from my officers goes.
"As much as my staff availability allows, and as much as my attention to other priorities allows as well."
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