A company caught illegally fishing in a protected area has been fined $59,500 and ordered to hand over the boat involved.
In the Nelson District Court, Amaltal Fishing Company was fined and ordered to forfeit a vessel, fishing gear and the proceeds of the illegally caught fish. Photo: RNZ
In 2018 the Amaltal Apollo trawled in a protected area on Lord Howe Rise, in the Tasman Sea West of New Zealand.
Amaltal Fishing Co Limited is a subsidiary of Talley's Group Limited, which owns the vessel. The vessel's master at the time was Charles Shuttleworth.
The Ministry for Primary Industries prosecuted the master and the company who were found guilty of 14 charges of breaching the conditions of a high seas fishing permit in March this year.
In the Nelson District Court today Amaltal Fishing Company Limited was fined $59,500 ordered to forfeit the vessel Amaltal Apollo, the fishing gear used and the proceeds of the fish caught illegally which worked out to be about $127,000.
Charles Shuttleworth was previously fined $12,000 for his role in the offending.
Talley's Group chief executive Tony Hazlett said the company was disappointed with the sentencing.
The Amaltal Apollo inadvertently fished in the area in mid-May 2018 only after the captain sought confirmation from the onboard observer from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) that the area was open to fishing and the vessel was entitled to fish there, Hazlett said.
It had previously been open to fishing. It was the observer's first trip to this area, he said.
"Amaltal takes the sustainability of the marine environments where we fish very seriously, and does not condone illegal fishing in any circumstances.
"Amaltal didn't direct, consent, agree or direct the vessel to fish in a closed area," Hazlett said.
Since the accidental fishing in 2018 Amaltal had been investing in additional electronic systems for monitoring the operation of its fishing vessels, he said.
MPI director of compliance Gary Orr said "MPI rejects the accusation that the observer was responsible for knowing the fishing area was closed. We note that an observer does not have any powers under the Fisheries Act to monitor or control navigation of a fishing vessel.
"As the court clearly found, the responsibility for knowing where you can and can't fish lies with the Skipper and the fishing company. This issue was brought up by the Defence during the trial earlier this year and the judge rejected this suggestion - adding MPI had no role in telling Mr Shuttleworth or the company where to fish or not to fish."
There were a series of things the company had failed to do which meant MPI had to hold them culpable for their inaction, Orr said.
"This is a professional organisation that's been fishing for many, many years, you don't just go to sea and sort of guess where you can legally fish or not. There are strict rules in place. They're there for a reason.
"On the high seas, we have international obligations and there can be huge consequences not just for the company, but for New Zealand when things go wrong like this. So we have to be seen to take strong action when we do detect offending."
In court today Amaltal indicated that it wanted to apply to the court for relief from forfeiture, Orr said.
"So pending the determination of that application for relief, the vessel has been returned to the company on a user agreement, so it's still Crown property, but we will allow them to use it until the court determines definitively whether it should be forfeit, or whether it can be returned to the company upon payment of some sort of fee."
Orr said the sentencing sent a very good message not only to the fishing community in New Zealand but also globally that New Zealand would not tolerate breaches of its obligations when we fished in our zone or on the high seas.
"This was a preventable and should never have happened and the company has been held to account accordingly."
