The Kaitaia District Court has found commercial fisherman Pedro Diaz, 53 from Kaitaia, guilty of not reporting his catch. The court has slapped him a fine of $16,000 for eight serious offences against the Fisheries Act. He was also ordered to forfeit a chiller truck, two commercial fishing vessels and associated fishing equipment.
According to the investigation the offences relate to the unrecorded catch and sale of fish between 1st July and 31st October 2007. Fishery officers observed Diaz over a four week period fishing in the Rangaunu and Houhora harbours which he had not recorded in his documentation. The court also ordered Diaz to pay $1,040 in Court costs and solicitor’s fees totalling $1,200.
District Compliance Manager Darren Edwards said that whilst this is a positive outcome for the Ministry of Fisheries and the fishery officers involved in the case. He also added that it is very disappointing to think that a local fisherman was failing to comply with the regulations and in doing so plundering the local fishery. The quota management system was established in 1986 to manage most of New Zealand’s major fisheries and is the cornerstone of the commercial fishing industry to ensure that we have a sustainable fishery both now and for future generations.
