Tasmanian anglers have been fined more than $50,000 since July last year, according to the latest Inland Fisheries Service report.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Released at the weekend, the report revealed $31,736 in court fines and $20,718 in infringement notice fines were issued between July 1 last year and June 30 this year.
Eight people ended up in the Magistrates Court with a total of 57 offences between them.
Of the people taken to court, one was sentenced to 21 days in jail, wholly suspended.
A total of 181 offences were recorded in the 2016-17 angling season.
The report also revealed nine people continue to be disqualified from holding a recreational whitebait licence for 26 years with 101 whitebait licences inspected since July last year.
The most common offences were fishing without a licence, possessing an assembled rod, reel and line without a licence and failing to wear life jackets.
“The wearing of PFD’s continues to be an issue, with 36 infringement notices issued for this offence,” IFS said in its report.
While inspectors continue to catch unlicenced anglers, tens of thousands of Tasmanians abide by the law each year by purchasing the appropriate permits.
During the 2015-16 financial year, 25,778 purchased angling licences with Inland Fisheries Service recording nearly $1.5 million in sales.
Those figures, however, showed a three per cent drop in sales from the previous year.
Despite the decrease, the brown trout season opening earlier this month saw thousands of anglers hit the water.
Fisheries officers checked 561 licences and inspected 53 boats across opening weekend.
During those two days, a number of offences were dealt with by inspectors.
Offenders included four people who were caught without life jackets, four fishing with an unattended set rod, two fishing without licenses, two fishing in closed water and two people with an assembled rod in closed water.
For more information, visit www.ifs.tas.gov.au/going-fishing