A man could face up to $14,000 in fines after he admitted spearfishing a protected species.

Christopher Burgess, 32, pleaded guilty in Magistrates’ Court yesterday to unlawfully taking parrotfish from an exclusive economic zone and unlawfully having a protected species.

The court heard that police were called to Tom Moore’s Tavern in Hamilton Parish, in the Walsingham Nature Reserve, after being alerted to someone taking parrotfish from the water.

Police arrived to find Burgess with two bags of dead parrotfish and a pole spear.

An examination of the fish, totalling seven, confirmed that they had been caught using a spear similar to that in Burgess’s possession.

The incident happened on March 13 last year.

Kael London, for the Crown, reminded the court that parrotfish were a protected species and integral in controlling sea algae — which was vital for coral reef growth.

He added that killing a protected species was punishable by no more than a $40,000 fine, two years’ imprisonment or both.

Mr London said that in this case, an appropriate fine would be $14,000 — $2,000 for each fish killed.

Tanisha Butler, for the defence, asked that her client be fined $1,000 for each fish and be given time to pay.

She said that while these crimes should be discouraged, a lesser fine than what the Crown was asking would still serve as an effective deterrent.

Senior magistrate Maxanne Anderson ordered Burgess, from St George’s, to comply with a social inquiry report and adjourned the case until December 12.

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