Amendments to the Fisheries Act could double the maximum penalty of offences under recently tabled legislation.The Fisheries Amendment Regulations 2012, set to be debated in the House of Assembly, would increase the potential fines for an offence from $25,000 to $50,000.It would also allow offenders to be sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, rather than the one-year maximum sentence set out in existing legislation.The proposed penalties would be applicable to a number of offences under the act, including taking protected fish, illegal spearfishing or lobstering and using explosives or poison to fish.