Fisheries offences will be subject to a broader range of penalties in a drive to ensure that the punishment fits the crime under regulatory changes that come into effect on 10th April, according to a statement by New Zealand’s Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones.
‘Until now, the only option to deal with some fisheries offences by recreational and commercial fishers has been prosecution, which can take a lot of time and resources and doesn’t always fairly reflect the level of offending. The new infringement offences mean Fishery Officers will be able to issue fines that are more proportionate to the level of offending, removing unnecessary cost and burden on the court system,’ he said.
The range of new infringement penalties start at $200, rising to $500 depending on the offence in question. New infringement offences will also apply for breaches of bylaws made under customary fishing regulations with penalties ranging from $250 to $500.
‘By fitting the punishment to the crime, we can free up the system to better deal with more serious offending. Make no mistake, fishers who break the rules will face the consequences and prosecution remains on the table where appropriate,’ he said.
Further regulatory changes coming into force on 10th April include allowing spearfishing by commercial fishers, and the use of underwater breathing apparatus (UBA) for harvesting scallops.
Commercial spearfishing will be allowed in most waters around the South Island and lower North Island.
‘While most areas are currently closed to scallop fishing, including all of the commercially fished scallop beds, the provision of UBA for commercial scallop-gathering provides a more selective harvesting method if the fishery is reopened in the future. This is about future-proofing the rules with sustainability at the core,’ Shane Jones said.
New penalties include a set fee of $400 for most breaches of recordkeeping requirements, and $200 for failing to respond to notifications.
There’s a penalty of $500 for offences relating to failure to use or apply a seabird mitigation measure, and a fee of $250 for breaches of technical specifications.
Specific offence and penalty provisions apply for failure to comply with conditions on a fish receiver’s licence with a fine not exceeding $20,000. It’s also an offence to fail to comply with administrative requirements of the regulation setting out tagging requirements for commercially caught rock lobster in the Otago fishery and sets a new offence provision of a fine not exceeding $20,000 for failure to meet tagging and labelling requirements.
