Thousands of dollars of black-market seafood sales have cost three Southland commercial fishers and another man fines of NZD 36,900.
Commercial fishers Michael Noel Hawke, Stuart Teiwi Ryan and Peter George Fletcher were sentenced in the Invercargill District Court, having pleaded guilty to multiple charges under the Fisheries Act.
Another man, Duncan William Davis, was sentenced on two charges under the Fisheries Act for illegally selling a large amount of kina, some pāua, and blue cod, following a successful prosecution by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
The prosecution was part of a larger 2023 investigation into illegal sales of kina, pāua, crayfish, blue cod, and oysters.
Fishery officers gathered evidence of the illegal sales by studying seafood landing records and electronic communications between the fishers, black-market suppliers and potential buyers.
"Our investigation found Hawke sold about 1,000 dredge oysters during the 2023 season that were not part of his allowable commercial take. They were his allowable recreational take and should have been in his landing report,” said Greg Forbes, Fisheries New Zealand district manager.
"Based on 2023 prices of NZD 37 a dozen, the oysters were valued at more than NZD 3,000. Bluff is the only wild oyster fishery in the world, and selling fish illegally has a serious effect on sustainability.”
The investigation found that a deckhand aboard the fishing vessel was also selling his allowable recreational catch.
Ryan was found to have sold 114 crayfish and about 40 blue cod. Crayfish retails at about NZD 140 a kilogram and blue cod NZD 75 a kilogram. Ryan made around NZD 2,250 in illegal earnings.
"Most commercial fishers follow the rules because they want their fishery to remain sustainable into the future – black-market sales of recreational catch are a slap in the face to the majority of commercial fishers who do the right thing."
Electronic evidence found that Davis, who is not a commercial fisher, sold seafood, including up to 400 punnets of kina roe, some pāua, and blue cod, on the black market. He had either caught or bought these items from Ryan to resell.
This included up to NZD 5,000 worth of kina that was sold illegally, as well as finfish valued at approximately NZD 2,000. This was deliberate, and the motivation was purely financial.
Meanwhile, fishery officers found that the third commercial fisher, Fletcher, had sold approximately 200 dredge oysters illegally on six occasions.
"None of these fishers held permits allowing them to sell fish, nor were they licensed fish receivers or fish farmers. When we find evidence of deliberate illegal sales of seafood, we will take action,” added Forbes.
"Poachers steal from everyone because the shared resources belong to all New Zealanders. Their behaviour also undermines the Quota Management System and our reputation for sustainable kaimoana.”
