Two men – aged 69 and 70 – have been caught with around 50 times the legal quantity of abalone, after their night time harvesting activities caught the attention of a South Australia Police helicopter crew.
Police seized the pair’s illegal haul at Hallett Cove early this morning.
“At about 2am on Wednesday 11 October, PolAir was searching overhead at Hallett Cove when fortuitously the officers spotted two people walking from the Hallett Cove boardwalk towards South Avenue,” South Australia Police said in a statement.
South Australia’s Department of Primary Industries and Regions states the personal daily abalone limit for fishers is five – or 10 per boat.
“Southern District patrols attended the area and located two men with hiking backpacks containing nearly 500 fresh abalone. The men were also in possession of wetsuits, nets and shucking knifes.”
Police contacted the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA), and officers attended and seized the abalone and equipment.
A 70-year-old man from Angle Park and a 69-year-old man from Para Hills West are being investigated by Fisheries officers for offences under the Fisheries Act.
