A poacher who was caught taking 43 conch, which would be more than eight times the daily limit if it had been in season, has been warned that he could be facing prison time.
Appearing before the Summary Court on Tuesday, 19 April, Donald Dexter Dixon entered guilty pleas to charges of taking conch outside the season.
“These are very serious charges, Mr. Dixon. You were caught taking 43 conchs and, at the time, the season was closed,” said Chief Magistrate Valdis Foldats, who was presiding over the case.
In reply, Dixon said he knew that taking that many was wrong, but that he did it for a relative.
“This is very degrading to the environment and, the fact is, when sentencing we will actually be looking at jail,” said Foldats.
Conch season in Cayman runs from 1 Nov. to 30 April each year. The catch limits allow for five conch per person or 10 per boat per day, whichever is fewer.
Cayman’s National Conservation Act sets out a maximum $500,000 fine and up to four years in prison for anyone who is convicted of an offence under this legislation.
Dixon was released on bail to return to court on 29 April, at which time he is expected to be sentenced.
Wider ring of organised poaching suspected
Dixon is one of multiple people who have been intercepted by Department of Environment officers while poaching in Cayman’s waters.
In July, two people were arrested after they were caught poaching 195 conch and four lobsters in the Frank Sound Marine Reserve.
DoE officers say they suspect there is a wide ring of sophisticated poachers, working in teams, who sell their illegal seafood to rogue local restaurants.
“These days, we have a lot more teams of persons actually doing it as a profession. They are hurting the island even more because when they wipe out an area of 100 or 150 conch, they are taking out an entire breeding bed,” DoE chief conservation officer Mark Orr told the Cayman Compass earlier this month.
Editor’s note: The original version of this story had an incorrect date for conch season. That has now been corrected.
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I hope this poacher, regardless who he was poaching for, receives the highest fine and jail sentence. If for nothing else it may make the next poacher think twice before taking the risk. There needs to be accountability and consequences. Marine life has no chance with humans taking advantage of defenseless creatures like the Conch. In a Marine Reserve as well? There is no safe place to protect nature anymore.