Fisherman forfeits boat

A commercial fisherman from Port Waikato has been fined $5500 and ordered to forfeit his boat, valued at $20,000, for fishing in a prohibited area.

Michael Joseph Macedonski was convicted of two charges at the Thames District Court on Monday.

The court was told how he had set an 800m gill net in the Tairua/Pauanui area of the Coromandel Peninsula, inside an area prohibited under commercial fishing regulations.

Macedonski landed fish at night at Tairua, which was not an approved landing point on his fishing permit, an offence under the Fishery Act.

MFish acting district compliance officer Mark Scott said such fines and forfeiture were to be expected where fishers deliberately ignored closed area restrictions.

"These have been established for good reasons and are often only in place due to the sustained efforts of committed local groups in support of their local fisheries."