Guillot v Hender

In Guillot v Hender, the appellants, who were masters of fishing vessels, were found to have made false statements to the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) regarding the amount of orange roughy fish they had unloaded, with the intent to fish further for that amount. The primary issue before the court was whether the appellants’ actions constituted an offence under section 155 of the Fisheries Management Act 1991, which prohibits misleading statements in connection with fishing licences. The court needed to determine the applicability of section 155 to the appellants' actions and whether their conduct met the statutory criteria for the offence. The court found that the appellants' actions did indeed constitute an offence under section 155, as they had knowingly made false statements to AFMA with the intent to gain an advantage, specifically by enabling further fishing for orange roughy. The appeal was dismissed, and the appellants were ordered to pay the second respondent's costs of the appeal.