Heavy fine for failing to account for coral by-catch
Nelson fishing company Westfleet Fishing and the skipper and mate of Tasman Viking have been fined close to $70,000 for failing to assess and report coral caught while fishing on…
Heavy penalties for failing to report snapper catches
A New Zealand fisherman has been hit with fines of $26,500 (approx €14,800) for omitting to log catches of roughly 2500kg of mostly snapper, as some kahawai and gurnard. Penalties…
Crayfish worth thousands of dollars were illegally sold within a black market ring in eastern New Zealand. Images: MPI
Sentences handed down to crayfish poachers
Members of a black market crayfish poaching ring in eastern New Zealand that netted thousands of dollars in illegal sales have been sentenced to home detention and community work. The sentences, in the Whakatane District Court, follow…
Cautious re-opening of Kaikōura pāua fishery
New Zealand’s Oceans and Fisheries Minister David Parker has decided the recreational pāua (abalone) fishing season will take place from 15th April to 15th June, and the commercial fishery is…
Beaking the rules nets fisherman hefty fine and ban
A fisherman and his company in New Zealand have been handed fines and a three-year fishing ban after being found guilty of contravening a variety of regulations. A court in…
Guilty verdict for NZ trawler operator
The former skipper of a trawler and fishing company Amaltal Fishing have been found guilty by a court in New Zealand of fishing offences that took place in 2018 when…
Auckland fishery officers Gemma Ramsay and Melanie Hayden. Image: MPI
Fishery officers adopt new tactics during pandemic
Fishery officers are using digital technology to protect New Zealand’s fishery resources during Auckland’s COVID-19 restrictions. During the first lockdown in 2020, fishery officers were able to work as per…
NZ company fined for finning sharks
A fishing company in New Zealand has been handed heavy fines by a court in Invercargill for a variety of offences, including finning shark catches. A fine of $18,000 has…
Fishing scam nets company owner million-dollar fine
The owner of a New Zealand seafood company has been landed with heavy penalties following the uncovering of a commercial scam concerning almost $1 million worth of black market pāua…
New Zealand’s east Coromandel scallop fishery is subject to a two-year shutdown. Images: MPI Fisheries
Scallop fishery’s two-year shutdown
Authorities in New Zealand have announced the closure of the east Coromandel scallop fishery for two years, starting this Saturday, and this applies to both commercial and recreational fishing for…