A Northland fishing company has been fined $16,500 for failing to use the correct fishing gear and providing a false statement on their fish landing return.
Macnicol Fishing Limited was sentenced at the North Shore District Court on three charges on Friday under the Fisheries Act after a successful prosecution by Fisheries NZ.
The company did not use tori lines, which were required to prevent accidental seabird capture when surface longlining.
Tori lines form a physical and visual barrier around the area where line setting occurred that prevented seabirds from accessing baited hooks. They consisted of a line with streamers and a buoy or extra fishing line attached at the end to create drag.
Fish landing returns record where a fish was caught for the purpose of sustainable fishing management.
Fisheries NZ district compliance manager Glen Blackwell said all longliners were expected to use tori lines when surface longlining.
“Video footage showed the fishing vessel Carolina M was longlining without using this bird-scaring device – which increases the risk of catching endangered seabirds.
“The rules are there for a reason and most commercial fishers follow them closely.”
Another of the company’s vessels, Keila, filed an incorrect electronic report identifying a different area to where the fish was actually caught.
The vessel filed another incorrect electronic report relating to its catch of snapper and trevally the following month.
Blackwell said accurate reporting was essential to sustainable management of fisheries.
“It is a fisher’s responsibility to accurately report their catch. This information is an important part of considerations when setting catch limits, so we take misreporting seriously.”
