Between May and July last year, the Department of Primary Industries’ Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol (QBFP) officers allege they collected evidence of a fisher interfering with crab pots that didn’t belong to him.

Officers also allegedly found the man to have the rostrum of a sawfish – protected species in Queensland – and commercial gill nets he was not authorised for.

The boat was seized and forfeited to the state. It will be destroyed “due to its condition”, the DPI said in a release.

QBFP Manager Gregory Bowness said this prosecution should serve as a reminder to all Queenslanders that interference with crab pots was a serious matter.

“This man’s poor decision to touch and interfere with other people’s crab pots has cost him $12,000 and his boat,” Bowness said.

“Interfering with crab pots that don’t belong to you is a serious offence under the Fisheries Act 1994. This includes pulling a pot out of the water – even if you do not remove any crabs.”