Navy lays down the (fishing) law

HMNZS Hawea on patrol off Northland's east coast. Photos / NZ Defence Force

The Royal New Zealand Navy has stepped in to help fisheries officers nab lawbreakers off Northland's east coast.

The Ministry of Primary Industries has teamed up with the Navy to boost inspections of fishing vessels, from the Bay of Islands to the Three Kings, a repeat of the patrols that are conducted several times a year to detect and deter illegal fishing, monitor compliance and educate recreational and commercial fishers alike.

A recent week-long patrol by HMNZS Hawea saw fishery officers inspect 18 vessels, 12 of them 12 commercial vessels, MPI's regional manager of fisheries compliance, Stephen Rudsdale saying a group of recreational fishers were found to have offended in relation to packhorse crayfish taken near North Cape.

"Four people on one vessel had 17 packhorse crayfish, which they had stolen from a commercial crayfishing pot. Nine of the female crays had eggs, and five were too small. All 17 crayfish were returned to the sea alive," he said.

The patrol also found a recreational long line in Deep Water Cove, in the Bay of Islands, an an area that has been closed to fishing for many years, making it an offence to take any fish other than kina. The line was seized and removed.

"Some of the areas where commercial fishing is conducted are beyond the reach of MPI patrol vessels, but are easily within the range of the Navy," Rudsdale said.

"When a big grey ship turns up the fishers can get a bit of a surprise."

Inspecting vessels at sea provided MPI with an opportunity to ensure fishers are complying with regulations by checking their catch, equipment and fishing methods, and officers needed to be able to get onboard fishing vessels to see if their reporting matches what was being caught, as well as checking that commercial fishing equipment and methods complied with the regulations.

"We also check that birds and other non-fish species are not being caught or are returned safely," he added.

Measures were in place to ensure the sustainability of fisheries, including accurate and truthful catch reporting for commercial fishers.

Since December last year commercial fishers had been required to use geospatial position reporting and electronic reporting systems, to inform Fisheries know in real time where vessels were working and what they were catching.

"Those who don't respect the rules will be appropriately dealt with under the law. The taonga we are protecting is important to all New Zealanders," Rudsdale said.

Any suspicious fishing activity should be reported to the MPI on 0800 4 POACHER (0800 476-224).