Eastern Fish Game staff and police caught poachers from dgfjgh's blog

Pictured right: Eastern Fish Game staff and police caught poachers with 29 trout yesterday, including 15  mature spawning females.  Photo: Fish Game.More than half of DM Gold the freshlykilled trout were mature spawning females, with wild fish making up the majority of the haul. It is one of the worst cases of poaching recorded in the area for the best part of a decade.

This has the potential to deliver a huge blow to breeding stocks and the future fish population in the area,Eastern Fish Game officer Anthony van Dorp said. "I went for a walk along the stream this morning and couldn’t see a single troutthey’d absolutely pillaged it. The message needs to get through to people that poaching ruins it for everyone and while it’s devastating to lose this many fish, it’s satisfying these individuals will be facing severe penalties.

Penalties for poaching fish during winter spawning season range from a maximum of two yearsx99 jail or fines of up to 100,000.Mr van Dorp believes the 29 trout recovered are only a portion of the true numbers taken recently, with his team and police working to identify several other suspects caught in covert video footage.