Author: Andrew George
Practice area: public order offences
Andrew is a founding Director of Doogue + George, ranked by Doyle's Guide as a Leading Criminal Defence Lawyer in Victoria (2026) and an LIV Accredited Criminal Law Specialist since 1995 with over 30 years of experience across all Victorian courts, tribunals and Royal Commissions. His depth of experience in this area means clients receive accurate, considered advice.
View full profile →Andrew authored this content and last revised it for accuracy on 6 August 2026.
What is the offence of Fishing Closures – Contravene a Prohibition?
This offence concerns breaching a legally imposed fishing prohibition under Section 67(3) of the Fisheries Act 1995. Prohibitions are created by regulations or fisheries notices and can restrict where, when, how, or what fishing activity is permitted. A person commits the offence by engaging in fishing activity that falls outside those lawful permissions.
Key points
- Legal basis: A valid regulation or fisheries notice must prohibit the relevant conduct
- Prohibited behaviour: Fishing activity that does not comply with the prohibition in force
- Court: Magistrates’ Court
The maximum penalty for Fishing Closures – Contravene a Prohibition is 100 penalty units ($20,910.00 — as at 2026–27) or six months’ imprisonment or both.
Common defences may include challenging whether a prohibition applied at the time or place alleged, or disputing the factual circumstances of the fishing activity.
Have you been accused of Fishing Closures – Contravene a Prohibition?
Pleading Not Guilty
If you have been charged with contravening a prohibition by fishing in a place where you’re not authorised to fish, or by using a fishing method you’re not authorised to, contact one of our experienced lawyers to explore possible defences. Charges can be laid, it doesn’t mean you are guilty of what is being alleged. We will take your instructions and use that to inform a defence strategy. The prosecution must prove their case beyond reasonable doubt. We are skilled at assessing how likely this is.
Pleading Guilty
If you engaged in fishing activity that is illegal, contact our office so we can advise you on your charges, and what the likely outcome will be. We will spend time understanding why you fished in a way you shouldn’t have so the court understands your side of the story, and sentences you with an understanding of you and why you did what you did.
Which court will the case be heard in?
As a summary offence, any summons for this charge will primarily be handled by the Magistrates’ Court.
What is the legal definition of Fishing Closures – Contravene a Prohibition?
The legal definition of this offence is contravening a prohibition under section 67(1) of the Act.
Examples of Fishing Closures – Contravene a Prohibition
- You go a camping trip with your family and go fishing at the local creek. This creek is protected by a fisheries notice which prohibits all fishing.
- You go fishing and catch Murray cod. There is a fisheries notice in place which specifies that the minimum size for Murray cod is 55 centimetres, and you catch a fish which is only 50 centimetres.
- You go fishing for abalone and use a spear to catch the fish. The abalone is protected by a fisheries notice, which prohibits spearing as a method of fishing.
- You buy an endangered species of fish that is protected under a fisheries notice and sell it in your shop.
Legislation
The legislation for this offence can be found in section 67(3) of the Fisheries Act 1995.
Elements of the offence
The prosecution must prove the following beyond reasonable doubt:
- The regulation or fisheries notice prohibited conduct as specified under section 67(1) of the Act; and
- The accused contravened the regulation or fisheries notice by engaging in such conduct.
Element 1: did the regulation or fisheries notice prohibit the conduct?
In order to prove this element, the prosecution will have to show that the regulation or fisheries notice prohibited certain conduct.
Under section 67(1), a regulation or fisheries notice may:
- fix open and closed seasons for fish, or
- prohibit the taking, landing, processing, selling or possessing of fish or fishing bait or a specified species of fish or fishing bait; or
- prohibit the use of specified fishing methods.
Usually, this will not be a controversial element. The court will look at the words of the regulation or notice to see if it prohibits conduct.
Element 2: did this contravene a regulation or fisheries notice?
The prosecution will also have to show that the accused contravened a prohibition under a regulation or fisheries notice.
This will usually be a factual dispute. There may be a dispute over the size of the fish, or the place in which it was caught, or the method used to catch it.
Defences
Cases related to this charge may be defended in many ways including an attack on the factual basis of the prosecution. Whether you should contest or plead guilty to this charge depends on a lot on your instructions as to what happened and also an assessment of what the Prosecutors can prove against you.
Questions in cases like this
- Did you use a prohibited species of fishing bait to catch the fish?
- Did you catch an endangered species of fish that is protected under a fisheries notice?
- Did you fish at a prohibited time of day, or time of year?
- Did you use equipment to catch the fish which is prohibited under a fisheries notice?
Maximum penalty for section 67(3) of the Fisheries Act 1995
The offence of Fishing Closures – Contravene a Prohibition (s67(3) of the Fisheries Act 1995) carries a fine of 100 penalty units ( $20,910.00 — as at 2026–27) or six months imprisonment as the highest possible sentence. It should be noted that the worse the breach of the fishing closure the worse the penalty likely to be imposed. For instance, if you made an enormous profit from catching and selling an endangered species of fish, you are likely to receive a substantial fine.
Under section 67(4), the regulations or fisheries notice may specify that a person is liable to a further penalty. If it is their first offence, a person may be liable to pay up to half a penalty unit for each fish. For any subsequent offence, they may be liable to pay up to one penalty unit for each fish.
