FORMER Port Fairy fisherman and gun full-forward Gary Robinson has pleaded guilty to more fishing offences.
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Robinson, 38, of Mahoneys Road, Killarney, pleaded guilty in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court on Wednesday to three representative charges relating to his fishing activities - two of under-declaring the amount of school shark he caught and one of falsifying records.
The court was told that the shark fishery quota system came under the jurisdiction of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority.
Shark fishery permit holders are not allowed to take more than 20 per cent of school shark in their shark catches.
Robinson operated the fishing vessel Western Light out of Port Fairy and part of his responsibilities included keeping accurate records in a daily log book of fish caught.
Those fish then have to be processed through an official independent fish receiver and paperwork forwarded to AFMA within three days.
Robinson's wife was his fish receiver at the time. The couple have now separated.
AFMA alleged that on July 19, November 8 and November 22 in 2013, Robinson under-declared the amount of school shark he caught.
Robinson then forwarded fish receiver's copies to AFMA without the knowledge of his official fish receiver - his wife, and signed her name.
The offending breaches a previously suspended three-month jail sentence imposed in the Warrnambool County Court on fisheries offences in November 2012.
That breach will be heard in the county court at a later date.
The maximum penalties for the three charges were fines of $110,000 or 12 months imprisonment for the fraud count and fines of $42,500 on each of the two fisheries charges.
Defence counsel Glenn Casement said Robinson was a father of two children, who was now divorced and had exited the fishing industry.
He said the offending happened when Robinson had a suspended jail sentence hanging over his head, his marriage was falling apart and he was in crippling debt - currently about $750,000.
Mr Casement said following the raid by fisheries officers, Robinson's wife left him and his client realised he had no future in the fishing industry.
He said Robinson admitted signing the fish receiver's documentation although any evidence from his now ex-wife would not have been admissible in court and the prosecution would have had difficulty proving those offences.
The barrister said Robinson had bitten off too much and fallen foul of the law, but the total amount of fish he had under-declared was valued at less than $5000.
Robinson is now working in Western Australia in the resources industry on a five weeks on: five-weeks off roster.
In November 2012, Robinson was fined more than $180,000 and sentenced to three months jail suspended for 24 months for fisheries and criminal charges.
The professional fisherman pleaded guilty to knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime and fisheries offences.
Judge Mark Taft said Robinson emerged as an arrogant cowboy with a blustering disregard for the law.
Fisheries officers seized 291 pots west of King island. Robinson was working under a licence for 40 pots and was alleged to have made $170,174 from his unauthorised fishing activities.