A Launceston court has heard allegations against a seafood company accused of mishandling abalone.
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Adelaide Bay Seafoods previously pleaded not guilty to charges of failing to keep approved records and failing to complete part B of a commercial dive docket before abalone is removed from the unloading site. The prosecution put forward their case in the Launceston Magistrates Court on Thursday. The charges relate to abalone found in the back of a processor vehicle near Musselroe Bay on May 30 last year.
The court heard police had been conducting checks on Musselroe Bay when they intercepted a white hilux, registered to Adelaide Bay Seafoods. Police claim 11 bins were found in the back of the vehicle, all containing abalone. The charges came about after police weighed the abalone and the result was greater than what was recorded on the processor’s weigh sheet and the diver’s docket. The allegations are that the processor and diver’s documentation showed a total of 377 kilograms of abalone while police recorded an additional 3.8 kilos, which worked out to be 7 individual abalone. The abalone was seized by police and sold to another processor – weighing 3.5 kilos at the time of sale, which police said may have been due to water loss.
During the hearing, the Tasmania Police Senior Constable who issued the initial infringement notice was called as a witness for the prosecution. After providing his version of accounts, defense counsel James Kitto, questioned the officer about a phone call made to the Adelaide Bay Seafoods driver about a week after the alleged offences. Mr Kitto claimed the driver had told the Senior Constable that he poured water over the abalone to keep it fresh and this would account for the weight discrepancies.
The Senior Constable denied having heard this explanation and told the court the driver had previously denied using water on the abalone when he was first intercepted by police. There was no written record of the interview with the Adelaide Bay Seafoods employee on May 30.
The matter was adjourned until Thursday, June 1.