Northland man ‘Stef the Maori’ fronts social media to explain illegal fishing in Poor Knights Islands

There has been a total no-fishing zone around the Poor Knights islands since 1998 to protect its delicate ecosystem.

The Northland fisherman at the centre of an alleged illegal fishing trip in the Poor Knights Islands has admitted his actions on social media and says he “wasn’t aware we were out of bounds”.

Stefan Apiata - also known as Stef the Māori - and his friends filmed themselves catching fish in the Poor Knights Islands, a fully protected marine reserve off the Tūtūkākā Coast, and posted the videos on social media.

Apiata took to TikTok to clear the air in a video that had been viewed more than 110,000 times last night.

“Kia ora whānau, turns out Stef’s a bit of a wanted man at the moment.

“Long story short is we f**ed up – wasn’t aware we were out of bounds.”

Apiata went on to say that one of the crew misread the GPS on the chart plotter.

Stefan Apiata has taken to TikTok to explain how he and his friends came to be fishing in the Poor Knights marine reserve.

“We thought that the circle where the lighthouse was, was the reserve. Turns out the whole f**ng island was a reserve.

“None of us on board had ever been to the Poor Knights before, I trusted the bro’s word when he said so.

“Ignorance is not an excuse to break the law and I’ll take it on the chin and wear the repercussions accordingly.”

Northland dive companies and the Department of Conservation (DoC) were shocked after viewing video footage of the men fishing earlier this week.

DoC is investigating the case with support from Fisheries New Zealand.

There has been a total no-fishing zone around the Poor Knights Islands since 1998 to protect its delicate ecosystem.

Apiata has made a name for himself as Stef the Māori in the Far North, fishing, hunting and gathering then cooking up his catches on open fires, hāngī, and camp ovens.

He films his escapades and shares them on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

In his TikTok admission, he said he’d spent six years building his social media brand, and “I’m not going to destroy that”.

Apiata also said he was “working on making things good with local iwi”.

In a statement, Ngātiwai Trust Board chairman Aperahama Kerepeti-Edwards said Tawhiti Rahi and Aorangi (the Poor Knights Islands) “hold immense cultural and spiritual significance” to te iwi o Ngātiwai.

The islands have been under rāhui since the 1820s “in respect of the significant historical events that occurred there,” Kerepeti-Edwards said.

Ngātiwai Trust Board chairman Aperahama Kerepeti-Edwards said the Poor Knights “hold immense cultural and spiritual significance” to te iwi o Ngātiwai.

“...we vehemently condemn the abusive and illicit fishing within the rāhui area as depicted in a video shared across social media.

“The actions depicted in the video are not only illegal under pākehā law but are a direct affront to our mana tuku iho as Ngātiwai, and the continuous efforts of our people who have long upheld their responsibilities as kaitiaki in these spaces.”

Kerepeti-Edwards said, the board acknowledges the swift response by the relevant Crown agencies in investigating the matter.

It is “committed to ensuring that a thorough inquiry is carried out and that appropriate actions against those involved eventuate, including a tikanga-based process.”

“It is imperative that those responsible for this blatant abuse are held accountable.

“We call for stringent enforcement measures to deter any future incidents.”

Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering roading, lifestyle, business, and animal welfare issues.