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Aguilas police arrest poacher for illegal fishing
The suspect is accused of using nets and pots to catch octopus in an area not authorised for professional fishing
The Guardia Civil have arrested a suspect in Águilas who had been accused of taking his boat out in an unauthorised area to catch fish and sell them on.
This police operation was carried out within the framework of the ‘Annual Plan for Control and Inspection of Fishing Activities’ of the Region of Murcia, and began when officers from the Nature Protection Service (SEPRONA) conducted covert surveillance work to prevent maritime poaching in the waters of the municipality of Águilas.
During one of these stakeout sessions, the officers spied a boat in the Bahía del Levante off the coast of Águilas, an area in which professional fishing is not allowed.
The man who was on the boat was identified by police, who verified that he did not have the corresponding administrative license for fishing, although he had several traps that are used to capture octopuses and two trammel nets of more than 100 metres in length designed for fishing croaker, sole, bream, sea bass and other fish.
In the Region of Murcia, the use of this type of fishing gear is regulated by law 2/2007 of March 12, on Maritime Fishing and Aquaculture.
Guardia Civil agents confiscated the boat and the fishing gear, and have processed the corresponding report-complaint to the General Directorate of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Aquaculture of the Region of Murcia, which is responsible for fishing, shellfish farming, aquaculture and pisciculture and is in charge of the protection of ecosystems in which these activities take place.
The suspect is also accused of violating Law 5/2023, of March 18, 2023, which can carry fines that range between 300 and 60,000 euros, depending on their severity, and can even reach 300,000 euros for very serious crimes.
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Images: Guardia Civil
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