Crays at the pub days are over

CHEAP AND ILLEGAL: Crayfish for sale on a Northland Facebook page, found by the MPI earlier this year.

The days of picking up a couple of crays at the pub might be over, but that's not good news for vulnerable fish stocks, according to the Ministry for Primary Industries. The black market has just moved with the times, and these days the illegal selling and buying of fish is likely to involve social media.

Using social media is a growing trend, according to ministry figures. It first came to light in 2012, when four cases of black market fish trading were identified online. That grew to 39 cases in 2013, 173 cases in 2014, and 117 cases in the first eight months of this year.

In case anyone was unsure, last week the ministry emphasised once again it was illegal for anyone to buy, sell or swap recreational catch. Depending on the scale of offending, those who did so risked prosecution and fines of up to $250,000, as well as the forfeiture of any gear used in the offence, including computers and cellphones.

In March, the ministry closed an Auckland-based black market site with 400 followers.

Compliance director Dean Baigent said the online environment had given people a new way of trading black market seafood.

"Many businesses have taken their products online, including illegitimate businesses and opportunists. Once upon a time someone offered you some cheap crays and paua at the pub. Now people are getting Facebook alerts," he said.

Fisheries officers and intelligence staff had been quick to adapt to online offending, however.

"The pleasing thing is that people are quick to tell us about this sort of activity, no matter where it happens. We get a lot of calls to our 0800 4POACHER hotline about online posts offering cheap seafood," Mr Baigent added.

"If it's a minor offence we direct the seller to take the post down and advise them that their name and details are stored by MPI, and that similar offending will result in a fine or prosecution. If the offending is more serious we'll investigate with the potential of issuing an infringement notice (fine) or laying charges."

Six people had been prosecuted so far this year for trading black market fish on social media. One was sentenced to 225 hours' community service, while another was fined $8550. The ministry served three others with infringement notices and instant fines of between $300 and $500.

Meanwhile, people who bought black market seafood posed as much risk to the country's fisheries as those who did the illegal fishing.

"If there are no willing buyers, there is no black market," he said.

"If you happen to see anything of this nature on social media sites, please take a screen shot and contact the MPI hotline (0800 4 POACHER - 0800 4 762-243). All calls are confidential."