Groper fishermen slammed for 'selfish' act at popular family spot

An Australian environmental scientist is calling on a group of spearfishers to hand themselves in after an "iconic" and protected groper fish was found speared at a popular family holiday spot.

The one-metre-long Queensland groper was found speared off the rock wall at Amity Point on North Sradbroke Island, east of Brisbane, just after lunchtime on Wednesday. The area is known to be frequented by families.

The death of the "Bambi of the sea" prompted Dr Daryl McPhee of Bondi University to beg the group, which Yahoo News understands to consists of three men, to hand themselves in to authorities. Speaking to Yahoo, McPhee said the issue highlights a worrying trend.

"It is certainly the second serious incident of spearfishers targeting a protected species on the Australian east coast in a few months," McPhee told Yahoo. "In most cases it is lack of awareness despite the large volumes of information available for fishers to access."

'Selfish' fishermen slammed for devastating act

McPhee theorised a lack of self-awareness and "perhaps a level of selfishness" could be to blame for the killings, explaining that his "message is a simple one". "If you don't know what a species is and the regulations around harming it, simply don't shoot it with your speargun," he said.

"These creatures are the Bambi of the sea. Every real spearfisher knows that spearing a groper is illegal and just no challenge whatsoever. It is an iconic Queensland species and it has been protected for a long time."

Although the area in which the groper was killed does allow spearfishing, McPhee said the perpetrators would've known that gropers are off-limits and asked them to "do the right thing and hand themselves in to the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol".

"They should be prosecuted with the full weight of the law and if convicted receive a penalty consistent with the community outrage," he said. "There needs to be extra focus on educating spearfishers. They need to know the law and know what fish is what before they jump in the water and kill something."

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Latest killing comes just weeks after similar incident

The killing comes after a blue groper was speared in Sydney in front of onlookers.

Stunned beachgoers were forced to call the police in December after a fisherman was seen illegally spearing and killing a blue groper before allegedly "walking off proudly" at a popular recreational spot. Gus, a beloved fish in the Cronulla region, was believed to be about 40 years old, and is well-known to swimmers and divers who frequent Oak Park on the peninsula just south of Sydney.

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