A fish trader in the New Zealand capital of Auckland has been handed heavy penalties for trading illegally caught fish.
Sea World Limited which traded as Seamart has been fined $360,000, and employee Marco Taukatelata has handed a jail term of three years and seven months, sentenced at the Auckland District Court on two charges under the Fisheries Act. A former company director Haihong Liu was also sentenced on two charges under the Fisheries Act to twelve months home detention, including attempting to pervert the course of justice.
‘Sea World was both a Licenced Fish Receiver (LFR) and a Dealer in Fish (DIF) which means it could legally receive fish from commercial fishers and distribute that fish to retailers. As part of our investigation fishery officers found that between December 2018 and November 2019, this company acting as an LFR illegally supplied fish valued at over $348,000 to other seafood companies,’ said Fisheries New Zealand director of fisheries compliance, Steve Ham.
‘None of this fish was properly recorded and was not reported as landed legally or received legally by Sea World. This was deliberate stealing by stealth that fell outside of the Quota Management System.’
The amounts included 38,202 kilograms of snapper, 2761 kilograms of kahawai and 1760 kilograms of grey mullet and the total cash benefit to SeaWorld was approximately $348,304.03.
‘This offending would not have been possible without the direct involvement of Mr Taukatelata or the assistance of Ms Liu. Our investigation found most of the 97 transactions conducted during the investigation period were in cash. This was a deliberate attempt to hide the transactions and the motivation was financial greed,’ Steve Ham said.
‘When we find evidence of illegal sales in fish – you can be assured that we will investigate and place the matter before the court.
‘The courts response should send a strong message to anyone involved in dealing in black market fish, whether at a low level or commercial level – it’s only a matter of time before you’re caught.’
Along with the sentences, a transport truck owned by Sea World and $20,000 cash were forfeited to the Crown.
While this part of the case is completed, there are still other defendants to appear before the court on criminal charges.
