New South Wales Consolidated Acts

FISHERIES MANAGEMENT ACT 1994 - SECT 179

179 Protection of leased areas

(1) A person, other than the lessee or the lessee’s agents or employees, must not:

(a) remove, or in any way injure or interfere with, any fish or marine vegetation cultivated or kept within the leased area or any thing used for the purpose of aquaculture on a leased area, without the consent of the lessee, or

(b) deposit anything on a leased area or dredge or dig within a leased area, except in accordance with Division 3 of Part 7 or, if that Division does not apply, by direction or authority of the lessee or the Minister.

Maximum penalty: In the case of a corporation, 100 penalty units or, in any other case, 50 penalty units.

(2) This section does not apply to the placing of any thing on a leased area for the purpose of navigation.

(3) A person who is found guilty of an offence against this section is liable to compensate the lessee for all damage that the lessee has sustained as a result of the person’s unlawful act. The lessee may, by proceedings brought in a court of competent jurisdiction, recover as a debt the amount of that compensation.

(4) If the Minister fails to authorise an act referred to in subsection (1) (b) at the request of a public authority or trustees in whom the land concerned is vested, the matter may be referred to the Premier for resolution by the Minister responsible for the authority or trustees.