Manchester businessman fined $300K for fisheries breach
Published:Thursday | April 21, 2022 | 12:12 AMChristopher Serju/Senior Gleaner Writer
Two years after he was charged for possession of spiny lobster and Queen conch during the close season and beyond the declaration period, Manchester businessman Oswald Powell was found guilty and fined $300,000 or spend six months in prison.
The case arose from an incident in 2020 when inspectors from the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) were conducting routine operations in Alligator Pond, Manchester, during the annual lobster close season and visited Oswald’s Seafood Restaurant, which is owned by Powell.
A search of his refrigerators was conducted in his presence and spiny lobster tail meat weighing 8.4lb along with Queen conch meat weighing 7.4lb found. The meat was seized and Powell subsequently arrested and charged.
He pleaded not guilty but was convicted by Parish Court Judge John Tyme in the Manchester Parish Court on April 11. The matter was prosecuted by lawyers from the NFA under fiat.
Justice Tyme pointed out that any person who fails to declare conch or lobster during a close season, in keeping with the regulations of the National Fisheries Act of 2018, is automatically guilty of an offence.
The penalty is a maximum fine of $3 million or jail time of two years.
Routine inspection
Senior legal officer at the NFA, Neidene Robinson, who led the prosecution team, told The Gleaner that the seizure was made during a routine inspection. She warned that NFA inspectors would continue to conduct random inspections to ensure that restaurants, hotels, cook shops, and other facilities do not have lobster or conch meat in their possession and that they comply with the close season order.
Chief executive officer of the NFA, Dr Gavin Bellamy, told The Gleaner that the agency is facing enforcement challenges in Manchester, particularly in the Alligator Pond fishing area.
“We are satisfied with the judgment handed down and hope it sends a strong message about the seriousness of the offence,” Bellamy said.
“When persons continue to fish and consume conch and lobster during the close season, they are destroying the fishery because the close season is there to conserve specific species of fish and reduce fishing pressure during their peak spawning period in order to ensure sustainability.”
Fishing for lobster is banned from April 1 to June 30.