A deep sea fishing company in New Zealand has had its vessel seized and fined $59,000 after illegal bottom trawling by a skipper on his first high sea job.
The Amaltal Fishing Company, a subsidiary of Talley’s Group Limited, and skipper Charles Shuttleworth, were convicted and sentenced in Nelson District Court on Thursday on 14 charges of bottom trawling in a protected area.
The charges relate to a 10-day period in 2018, when Amaltal vessel the Amaltal Apollo made 14 trawls in Lord Howe Rise, a protected area of the Tasman Sea, harvesting 22 tonnes of fish valued at $127,000.
In March, Amaltal and Shuttleworth were found guilty of the charges, which were brought by the Ministry for Primary Industries.
Outside court, MPI director of compliance services Gary Orr said the convictions sent an
“important message”.
“The company has tried to say it’s a mistake, but mistakes of this magnitude have consequences.”
“What we have achieved [with a successful prosecution] signals to the industry and to the world that New Zealand will take strong action to vessels that breach high seas fishing rules.”