Three guilty fishermen fined over $42,000

They were caught red handed with a boatload of illegal seafood…and now the three guilty fishermen have been forced to pay. Following Thursday’s seizure of two thousand, one hundred and sixteen undersized conch, Nelson Garcia and sons Nelson Junior and Paulino have been fined a total of forty-two thousand, three hundred and twenty dollars. That’s twenty dollars for each conch, or fourteen thousand, one hundred dollars per fisherman, with Paulino paying for the leftover. The sentence was ordered by Magistrate Earl Jones, who also levied an additional three hundred dollar fine on each man as the fisheries penalty. They will be allowed to pay the money in instalments, beginning in November and if they fail to come up with the cash, each will receive three years in prison.

As for the Northern Fishermen Cooperative, busted the same day for one thousand, six hundred and sixty-three undersized conch, that trial comes up on Thursday in the same court.