An Auckland fish trader has been fined $360,000 and an employee jailed for 3 years and 7 months for both receiving and distributing thousands of dollars in illegally caught fish.
Sea World Limited which traded as Seamart and employee Marco Taukatelata (49) were sentenced on Friday (16 August) at the Auckland District Court on 2 charges under the Fisheries Act. Former company director Haihong Liu (43) was also sentenced on 2 charges under the Fisheries Act to 12 months home detention, including attempting to pervert the course of justice.
“Sea World was both a Licenced Fish Receiver (LFR) and a Dealer in Fish (DIF) which means it could legally receive fish from commercial fishers and distribute that fish to retailers. As part of our investigation fishery officers found that between December 2018 and November 2019, this company acting as an LFR illegally supplied fish valued at over $348,000 to other seafood companies.
“None of this fish was properly recorded and was not reported as landed legally or received legally by Sea World. This was deliberate stealing by stealth that fell outside of the Quota Management System,” says Fisheries New Zealand director of fisheries compliance, Steve Ham.
The amount of fish taken included 38,202 kilograms of snapper, 2,761 kilograms of kahawai and 1,760 kilograms of grey mullet and the total cash benefit to SeaWorld was approximately $348,304.03.
“This offending would not have been possible without the direct involvement of Mr Taukatelata or the assistance of Ms Liu. Our investigation found most of the 97 transactions conducted during the investigation period were made in cash. This was a deliberate attempt to hide the transactions and the motivation was financial greed”.
“When we find evidence of illegal sales in fish – you can be assured that we will investigate and place the matter before the court”.
“The courts response should send a strong message to anyone involved in dealing in black market fish, whether at a low level or commercial level – it’s only a matter of time before you’re caught,” Mr Ham says.
Along with the sentences, a transport truck owned by Sea World and $20,000 cash were forfeited to the Crown.
MPI encourages people to report suspected illegal activity through the ministry’s 0800 4 POACHER number (0800 47 62 24)
Other recent fisheries prosecutions
Taking pāua, crayfish, kina, mussels, snapper illegally – costs some fishers thousands in fines
Over the past two months, a number of fishers have paid the price in fines for taking too many and often undersize shellfish, along with selling recreationally caught fish.
“There are consequences for failing to follow fishery rules and for some people, it will hurt their wallet. Our job is to protect fishing resources so that everyone can enjoy the opportunity to put fresh kaimoana on the dinner table,” says Fisheries New Zealand Director of Fisheries Compliance, Steve Ham.
A 38-year-old Hastings man was fined $1000 in the Hastings District Court for taking 36 pāua from Kairakau beach in August last year. The man’s catch bag was inspected by Fishery Officers and he had over three times the daily limit for that area at the time. All the pāua was less than the minimum size of 125mm in length.
A 36-year-old Rotorua man has been fined $2500 for taking 48 pāua off Wellington’s south coast in December last year. When Fishery Officers inspected his catch they found 41 of the pāua were undersize. The daily limit per person in this area is five and the man’s catch was over nine times that limit.
A 52-year-old Wairoa man was fined $1500 in the Wairoa District Court for taking 33 crayfish from Mahia 32 of which were undersize. At the time, the daily catch limit was 6 crayfish per person with a minimum tail width of 54mm for male crayfish and 60mm for female crayfish.
Lastly a 41-year-old Auckland man was fined $800 for taking 141 green lipped mussels from Muriwai Beach. The man was gathering mussels with another fisher who is yet to appear before the court as he helped gather a total of 282 green lipped mussels. The fishers were stopped by Fishery Officers in July last year. This area has a daily limit of 25 per person.
