The 7.5-metre boat named Flaked Out was confiscated as part of the Victorian Fisheries Authority case against three Camperdown men.

The case was built around hundreds of hours of footage when the men made 36 trips out to sea between August 2016 and January last year.

Camperdown fish and chip shop operators, Mustafa and Burhan Meric, caught, processed and then sold illegally the caught shark.

They paid off the $200,000 they paid for Flaked Out in just two years.

They were jailed in February this year after pleading guilty in the Warrnambool court.

The boat was put up for grabs through Pickles Auctions on Tuesday this week.

It had hundreds of bids over the three days, with the price starting at $80,000 in the final hour before the auction closed at 8.20pm on Thursday.

The Merics pleaded guilty in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court in February to a range of fisheries offences relating to taking fish valued at $50,000 on 34 fishing trips.

They were each jailed for three months, convicted and fined $9500 and their boat was confiscated.

They were also banned from fishing for 10 years.

In June Burhan Meric appealed against the severity of the jail term and had one month trimmed off his sentence.

Deckhand Wayne McLean was jailed for two months and fined $7500 after he went on 31 trips.

The three were also banned from fishing for 10 years.

In June Burhan Meric appealed against the severity of the jail term and had one month trimmed off his sentence.

A judge accepted the illegal fishing sting wasn't Burhan's enterprise, but his younger brother Mostafa's.

Magistrate Franz Holzer said the offences were motivated by self-interest and greed and a 12-minute video of the illegal activities was compelling.

Mr Holzer said fish were a fragile natural resource, with a limited life unless properly and responsibly managed through licensing and as fish and chip shop operators the Merics knew that more than anyone.

He said the offending was motivated by money and the Merics sidestepped statutory and licensing obligations in making 36 trips between August 2016 and January last year in Victorian and New South Wales waters.

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Fisheries prosecutor John Livitsanos said it was Victoria's largest ever fisheries investigation, involving hundreds of hours of surveillance footage.

"It's by far the biggest take-for-sale case ever in Victoria," he said.

"We've never seen anything like this in terms of size, duration, quantity and objective gravity.

"You have the owners of a fish and chip shop illegally taking and processing fish for financial gain."

Mr Livitsanos said the operation involved the taking of hundreds of fish, mainly shark, over 16 months.

Undercover officers bought fish from the shop a number of times, once 40 fillets for about $150.

Mustafa Meric was described as the principal offender, McLean was the deck hand while Burhan Meric sold the fish through the shop he managed.

Such was the extent of the operations that Mustafa Meric considered buying a commercial fishing licence but said they were not for sale.

Anyone who sees or suspects illegal fishing is urged to call the 24-hour reporting line 13FISH (133474), anytime.

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