A 41-year-old Southampton man has been fined $500 for possessing a spear while swimming in the water within one mile of the shoreline.

Nico Cann pleaded guilty to carrying the fishing equipment but denied the charge of spear fishing within a mile from shore in the area of Jew’s Bay, Southampton, on October 21 last year.

The court heard how Cann was spotted swimming with a snorkel mask and reported to officials who saw him dive down and retrieve a spear from the sea floor. They seized the equipment.

Crown prosecutor Nicole Smith told Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo that the maximum penalty for illegal spear fishing was a $25,000 fine or 12 months imprisonment or a combination of a fine and sentence.

The defendant told the judge: “I didn’t know Jew’s Bay was prohibited. I wanted to show my son how to do it but we couldn’t go more than a mile off shore. I didn’t even have a net bag to put them in.”

Mr Tokunbo dismissed the first count but fined the man $500 for possession of the item.

Also in court today, a Pembroke man and Hamilton man were fined $500 each for affray after getting into a fight on Parliament Street in the early hours of Christmas Eve.

Clarke Fox, 26, and Alzado Minks Cole, 26, were caught exchanging blows to the head and torso at 1.50am near the Cabinet building and the court heard that members of the public had to cross the road in order to avoid injury.

Police tried to separate the pair but they continued to fight while shouting and swearing at each other. Cole was said to have shouted: “That guy stole my s**t”.

Both men pleaded guilty but had nothing further to say to Mr Tokunbo. He fined them $500 each for affray.

Meanwhile, an 82-year-old taxi driver from St George’s was fined $300 for using threatening words against a traffic warden.

Leon Tacklin pleaded guilty to telling the female traffic warden on July 15 of last year “I’ve been watching you, I’m going to get you one of these days — you’d better watch your back”.

The court heard how Tacklin was in the area of King’s Square, St George’s, when he saw the warden writing down car numbers. Another driver was trying to move into the area where she was when Tacklin said: “Keep going until you knock her over”.

Speaking for himself in court, Tacklin told Mr Tokunbo that he had a previously confrontation with the warden claiming that she called him a “black b*****d”.

Tacklin added: “She is trying to get something back on me.” He then told the magistrate: “I know it wasn’t the right thing to do. I’m sorry”.

Mr Tokunbo fined him $300, saying: “You recommended a traffic warden be knocked over.”

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