Tip-offs from members of the public helped lead fishery officers to a group of commercial fishers who were allegedly under-reporting catches and unlawfully supplying snapper to an Auckland business.
Last month, police and the Ministry for Primary Industries swooped on a number of locations across the Auckland and Waikato regions and seized phones, computers, six fishing vessels, a truck and $25,000 in cash. But they also found 800 kilograms of undocumented grey mullet and kahawai, along with over 200 kilograms of undocumented snapper.
MPI's fisheries compliance manager, Steve Ham, told Logan Church their investigation is still in its early stages.
