An Albany man accused of stealing a detection tag from a white shark off Western Australia's south coast has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Former commercial fisherman Gregory Mark Sharp, 48, from Kalgan in the south coast town, appeared in Albany Magistrates Court today charged with stealing.
Prosecutors allege he removed the acoustic monitoring device after accidentally catching the predator while fishing.
He is accused of using the tag to set off acoustic shark detection buoys in Albany waters seven times between August and September.
Sharp pleaded guilty to charges of possessing 3.2 grams of cannabis and drug paraphernalia found during a search relating to the shark tag.
He was fined $750.
Sharp will appear in Albany District Court for a trial on the stealing charge in March.
