Pupils' verdict on fishing at Poor Knights

DOC approach Steven Gray fishing at the Poor Knights.

He deserved it

I believe Steven Gray from Whakatane who was fined $1350 in the Whangarei Courts for fishing in the Poor Knights Marine Reserve, really deserved it.

Mr Gray was caught by the Department of Conservation while he was fishing on his luxury charter boat. DOC found two huge snapper on board and he confessed that he had caught them in the reserve.

Mr Gray was a skipper with a full skipper licence which means he would have known he was fishing in a marine reserve and would have had a GPS that clearly showed this.

Mr Gray's fishing equipment was forfeited and he only received a $1350 fine. He should have been fined at least $4000 and been banned from fishing for at least five months. We need to take care of our oceans and send a very clear message to the public that it's not okay to fish in marine reserves.

- Jack Lasenby, 10, Room 8 Parua Bay School

Take rods away

I totally don't agree that the professional skipper, Mr Gray, was charged only a $1350 fine for fishing in the famous international marine reserve at the Poor Knights Islands.

One reason why this is such a minimal fine is that he is a professional skipper. I totally think that his punishment was way too small.

An appropriate punishment that I would go with would be that he should get a fishing ban for at least 10 months and have to pay at least a $4000 fine and lose all his fishing rods.

Giving a larger penalty would make people think twice about fishing at the Poor Knight Marine Reserve.

- Tom, 10, Room 8 Parua Bay School

Fine him more

Mr Gray should have been fined a lot more because he's a charter boat operator. $1350 just isn't enough of a fine for fishing in a marine reserve. He should have received a much larger fine of at least $2500. Also he should have had his charter boat license taken off him for at least 12 months.

He is a professional skipper he shouldn't have been fishing in an international marine reserve. Punishment should be a lot more than than it was. A clear message needs to be sent out to all charter boats and local fisherman.

- William Burns, 9, Room 8 Parua Bay School

Confiscate boat

I don't think that the punishment that was given in the Whangarei District Court was reasonable enough.

A $1350 dollar fine was given and the skipper's fishing gear was forfeited, and the two fish that he caught. I believe that the punishment given should have been more severe.

I think that the fine should have been more like $3000 and he should have had his boat taken away from him.

The reason I think is because he would have known that he was fishing in a marine reserve from his gps/chart plotter plus he was a professional skipper.

A clear message needs to be seen by all who visit our Poor Knights Marine Reserve and that they cannot fish in our famous International Marine Reserve.

- Thomas Powell, 9yrs, Room 8 Parua Bay School