Fisherman owns up to illegal fisheries so his two colleagues can go free; second man still charged for unlicensed fishing

Published by BBNTEAM at June 19, 2022

Tags

Posted: Sunday, June 19, 2022. 9:30 am CST.

By BBN Staff: Two of three fishermen aboard the vessel “Ocean Lover Mates” have been charged with fisheries offenses and fined.

Authorities conducted a search of the vessel where they found 9 lobsters, which are currently out of season until June 30, six of which were undersized. Authorities also found 27 undersized conchs on the vessel, that had been partially cleaned.

Aison Weir, 37; Percival Flowers, 68; and Walllinston Russel, 61, were jointly charged for the illegal fisheries, but in court, Wier took responsibility for them pleading guilty to the charges thereby sparing the other two from them.

For his guilty plea, Wier was fined $1,000 for each possession of out-of-season lobster, possession of undersized lobster, possession of undersized conch, and $15 cost of court. He was additionally charged $50 for each piece of undersized fishery; this worked out to $1,350 for the conch and $300 for the lobster. The court also fined him an additional $450 for the out-of-season lobster, bringing his total fines up to $5,125.00, which needs to be paid by November 30.

And while his efforts managed to spare Flowers from any legal recourse, Russel was still charged for not having a valid fishing license. He pleaded guilty and was fined $1,00 plus $5 cost of court, which he must pay by September 30 or he will spend two months in jail for default.

Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Belize ~ We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages. Your content is delivered instantly to thousands of users in Belize and abroad! Contact us at mаrkеtіng@brеаkіngbеlіzеnеwѕ.соm or call us at 501-612-0315.