A search for fresh seafood cost a man $4,500 in fines at Magistrates’ Court yesterday.Clive Hook, 56, admitted he left his home in breach of the shelter-in-place regulations.He also pleaded guilty to spearfishing inside a mile of shore, catching a lobster out of season and illegally spearing a lobster.Magistrates’ Court heard that a coastguard patrol spotted a boat with two people on board in the area of South Basin and Cross Island off Sandys at 5.20pm last Sunday.They spoke to the people on the boat, who said Hook was in the water looking for a lost watch.The soldiers saw Hook, from Sandys, in the water and, when he saw the patrol boat, he submerged and dropped a red bag.Hook at first denied knowing anything about the bag, but when the patrol warned they would call up a diver to recover it, he admitted it was his.He told the soldiers: “I was just getting dinner. There’s a lobster in the bag.”The bag and a spear were later retrieved and a lobster with a stab wound was found inside the bag. Hook told the court: “I was looking for something to put on the table.“Funds right now are really, really tight.”Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo said the breach of the shelter-in-place regulations was serious and fined Hook $3,000 for the offence. He also fined Hook $500 for each of the three fisheries offences.In a separate case, David Fubler, 58, pleaded guilty to a charge that he left his Devonshire home last Saturday in breach of the shelter-in-place regulations.But he denied a charge of prowling at a Devonshire home on the same day.Mr Tokunbo fined Fubler $3,000 for the breach of the state-of-emergency rules.He adjourned the prowling charge until June 8 and released Fubler on $2,000 bail.Kevin Gardner, 39, denied an allegation that he breached a domestic violence protection order on Saturday.He also pleaded not guilty to a charge that he visited a house in breach of the shelter-in-place regulations and damaged a window. Mr Gardner was remanded in custody until Friday.• It is /The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding criminal court cases. This is to prevent any statements being published that may jeopardise the outcome of that case.