A court in Nelson has handed down fines totalling $71,500 against Amaltal Fishing Co and the skipper of Amaltal Apollo for an incident on the Lord Howe Rise in 2018 when the trawler deployed its gear in a protected area west of New Zealand.
The company and skipper were found guilty at the Nelson District Court in March this year, and the sentence announced this week entails a $59,500 for for Amaltal Fishing and a $12,000 for skipper Charles Shuttleworth, while fishing vessel Amaltal Apollo, fishing gear and the $127,000 proceeds the sale of the catch of alfonsino were all forfeited.
Amaltal’s Tony Hazlett said the company is disappointed with the fine and said the company has been investing in additional electronic systems for monitoring the operation of its fishing vessels, increasing this investment significantly after the accidental fishing in 2018.
It will continue to deliver on its responsibility to equip its skippers and crew with the training, instruction and the best tools needed to operate the vessels according to the law.
According to the company, Amaltal Apollo inadvertently fished in the area in mid-May 2018 only after the skipper sought confirmation from the onboard observer from the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) that the area was open to fishing and the vessel was entitled to fish there. It has previously been open to fishing. It was the observer’s first trip to this area. The vessel was midwater trawling at the time of the incident and there was no impact to the seabed.
‘Amaltal didn’t direct, consent, agree or direct the vessel to fish in a closed area,’ Tony Hazlett said.
‘Amaltal takes the sustainability of the marine environments where we fish very seriously, and does not condone illegal fishing in any circumstances.’
