A crew member of the Norwegian Breakaway cruise ship has been fined after hooking an undersized protected species while fishing in Dockyard.

At around 4pm on August 3, a fisheries warden spotted Filipino national Tapan Jerson near the Malabar area, Magistrates’ Court heard today.

An hour later, the warden intercepted the 37-year-old as he left the fishing spot and asked to see what he had caught.

Jerson produced a dead yellowtail snapper, which at 21cm was under the 30cm legal size at which the species may be fished.

The defendant’s lawyer explained that there was no malice in his actions, and that he had not known the law regarding acceptable fish sizes.

Fining Jerson $300, magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo told him: “We have some good fish up there, but you’ve got to catch the big ones.”

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