▲TopPHONE CALL NETS FISH THIEVES IN YARRA RIVER

A phone call to the 13-FISH offence reporting line will lead to the charging of three men who allegedly, illegally took fish for sale from the Yarra River in Melbourne.

The allegations follow an early morning call from a member of the public about men catching fish in the Yarra, near Coode Island and then selling them to an unsuspecting Footscray fish retailer.

Fisheries Victoria will allege the three men, one a commercial fisher, were catching fish in an area that was protected from commercial fishing by law.

Two of the men, from Geelong, were observed as they allegedly took fish caught in the Yarra and then sold them to the retail outlet using the commercial fisher’s licence as proof of their legality.

The two men were then tracked to their Geelong addresses. They will be charged on summons with illegally taking fish for sale and other matters.

It is illegal for people to sell fish without authorisation. Their car, fishing equipment and fish were all seized as a result of this investigation.

Members of the public can help support the work of Fisheries Officers by providing information about suspicious fishing activity, including time, date, location, number of people involved, vehicle registrations and descriptions of activity and equipment used, to the 13 FISH line.

The reporting hotline 13 FISH (13 3474) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.