“His offending continued into 2022/2023 when he reported taking no spat, yet our sales inquiries found he had sold 939kg of spat to marine farmers.”
Commercial fishers and licenced fish receivers are only able to land what their quota rights or annual catch entitlement allows them.
Without quota rights or catch entitlement, anything landed above their allowance means a penalty, called deemed value, must be paid to the ministry.
Espinoza said fishery officers discovered Lovell’s illegal behaviour after the invoices shared between the fisherman and his buyers did not add up.
“Mr Lovell’s deliberate non-reporting meant he benefitted directly from not paying $53,540 in deemed value.
“Mr Lovell undermined the quota management system and the sustainability of our shared fishing resources.”
Espinoza said the vast majority of people involved in the fishing industry do the right thing.
MPI encourages people to report suspected illegal activity through the ministry’s 0800 4 POACHER number (0800 476 224).
