A man has been fined $3,500 for taking fish from a protected area.

Patrick Wilson, 60, admitted taking fish from the eastern grouper protected area when he appeared in Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

The court heard that the Royal Bermuda Regiment Coastguard caught sight of a boat in the protected zone, which was closed to fishing at the time, on September 1, 2024.

Wilson, from Devonshire, was found with a barrel full of fish on his boat. The fish were confiscated.

He told the court that he did not know the area was protected, but was ordered to immediately pay $1,500 of the fine.

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