Hawke’s Bay commercial fisher claims he’s received threats, evidence of sabotage attempts

A Hawke’s Bay trawler operator says he’s received hate mail and multiple online threats from recreational fishers who claim he’s stealing their catch.

The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said he’s been sworn at, challenged to fights, told to get a real job and has seen evidence of attempted sabotage.

“I’ve worn abuse at sea from recreational fishers because they get territorial and think I’m somehow affecting their day.

“We’ve trawled up things in the net designed to break gear or harm people. My friend trawled up a cinderblock with rebar sticking out chained to a half-full LPG bottle.”

He said the abuse was affecting his mental health.

“It’s a shame because I’ve actually helped a lot more people than I’ve ever done wrong to. I’ve towed in more people than I can count. We’re just trying to pay the rent like everyone else. We’re not robots, we’re human beings.”

A trawler worker says he has received threatened and abused "more times than he can count" by recreational fishermen online and on the sea.

LegaSea Hawke’s Bay spokesman Jim Yeoman said threats to trawler operators and crews in Hawke’s Bay are common and “people need to pull their heads in”.

“A particular gentleman made a verbal statement to a commercial fisherman that if they continued fishing along Clive/Waimarama region that they would start shooting at them and to expect a visit from the [a gang],” Yeoman said.

“The fact is that LegaSea worked really hard with commercial fishermen, and we’ve got something completely unique in Hawke’s Bay in that aspect that we aligned, we’re working together to rebuild everything.”

Yeoman points to the closing of trawling in the 230sq km area known as the Springs Box off Hawke’s Bay’s coast that is “renowned for being a snapper breeding ground during the summer” which has helped boost fish stock numbers in the region.

“They’ve also closed that area for commercial boats for three months from the 1st of December and they’ve done that for six years now and we’re seeing the results here.

“People need to grow up, they need to acknowledge that fish do move. So just because you catch your limit of gurnard off one spot today, doesn’t mean you’re going to catch it tomorrow.”

Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, Shane Jones, said it’s obvious the trawlers understand the consequences of not staying within their legal authority, and he’s had a “gutsful of these loose and dangerous things that are tossed around, both on social media and in the community”.

“In my experience, the vast majority of industry members value and cherish the right they have to go commercially fish off the coast of New Zealand and by the way, the catch rates off the Hawke’s Bay coast are doing extraordinarily well,” Jones said.

“If I can find out who the operators are I will try and reach out to them to reassure them that they ought not to cower and run away from these huhu grub-orientated gangster threats.”