Buddhists ordered to pay £28k+ over release on non-native lobsters

Two Buddhists have been ordered to pay more than £28,000 in fines, compensation and costs after releasing non-native species of lobsters into the sea off Brighton.

Ni Li and Zhixiong Li pleaded guilty at Brighton Magistrates Court last week (20 September) to breaching the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

The case, which was prosecuted by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), followed the release on 15 June 2015 of 361 live American lobsters and 35 Dungeness crabs off the Sussex coast.

The release was part of a religious ceremony attended by a party of more than 100 Buddhists.

Zhixiong Li had organised the party and oversaw the release, and Ni Li had procured the lobsters from a specialist fish merchant in London.

The action was contrary to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which is in place to protect indigenous species from invasion by non-native species, the MMO said.

Ni Li was fined £3,500, ordered to pay £9,000 in compensation, costs of £3,000 and a victim surcharge of £170.

Zhixiong Li was fined £500, ordered to pay £9,000 in compensation, costs of £3,000 and a victim surcharge of £50.

The compensation was awarded to the MMO to pay for the action taken with the local fishing industry to recover the non-native species.

A spokesman for the MMO said: “The size of the fines in this case recognises the significant risk to the marine environment posed by offences of this nature.

“The MMO would like to thank both the local fishing industry for their significant assistance in the recovery of the animals from our seas and the Buddhist community for their help in communicating and educating people on the risks posed by the release of non-native species into our waters.”