Businessman found with lobster outside designated season fined $1M  

SOURCE: The Gleaner 

A St Catherine businessman has been fined a total of $1 million for having lobster in his possession outside of the designated season.

The fine was imposed on Andrew Bennett in the St Catherine Parish Court on Friday.

Senior Parish Court judge Janelle Nelson-Gayle ordered Bennett to $500,000 each for possession of prohibited fish and failure to declare the spiny lobsters he was found with.

The maximum fine for each offence is $3 million.

Bennett was arrested by the police in June this year after they observed several pounds of Spiny lobster during a visit to his food establishment on Port Henderson Road in Portmore, St Catherine.

The lobster season runs from July 1 to March 30 and is closed from April 1 to June 30.

Bennett pleaded guilty to the charges during his first court appearance in July.

He was represented by attorneys-at-Law Linden Wellesley.