Selling recreationally caught seafood, taking too many cockles, undersize pāua, set netting in prohibited areas, earn fishers thousands of dollars in fines Recreational fishers have paid the price for not following the fishing rules, to the tune of thousands of dollars in fines, along with community work, over the past month before the courts.
“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 the table,” says Fisheries New Zealand Director of Fisheries Compliance, Steve Ham.
A 52-year-old Wellington man was fined $3,900 in Wellington District Court for harvesting and selling recreationally caught kina. The man had been under investigation and was found to have made 21 sales of kina between November 2021 and April 2022. Each of the 73 bins contained between 10 and 15 kina and the man earned about $2,920.
A 71-year-old Auckland man was fined $750 in the North Shore District Court for taking 178 cockles from Okoromai Bay in Whangaparaoa in April this year. The daily limit per person in this area is 50 cockles and the man was stopped by a fishery officer on patrol.
A 37-year-old Auckland man has been ordered to do 100 hours community work by the North Shore District Court for selling recreationally caught seafood between January and October 2022. The man sold about 4 crayfish, 5 kilograms of pāua, about 7 sea urchin and 2 crabs.
Two Wellington men aged 62 and 68 have each been fined $600 in the Hutt Valley District Court for taking 2,853 cockles near the mouth of the Hutt River at Petone. The men had their catch inspected by Fishery Officers in November last year. The daily limit per person in this area is 150 cockles per person. One of the defendants was using a rake to gather the shellfish into buckets.
A 50-year-old Masterton man has been ordered by the Hutt Valley District Court to do 60 hours community work for taking 43 pāua – 12 of them being undersize.
If you’re unsure of the fishing rules in the area you plan to fish – get the most up to date fishing rules by downloading the free NZ Fishing Rules mobile app. It will also work if you’re fishing in an area with limited mobile coverage.
