A fisherman who mistakenly trawled in the Kahurangi Marine Reserve has been fined $13,500 and ordered to pay the Department of Conservation for the illegally caught fish.
Colin Lyall Sharland?, 59, was sentenced in the Nelson District Court on Wednesday on a charge of commercially fishing in a marine reserve without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.
The maximum penalty is three months imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.
Sharland was fined $13,500 and ordered to pay court costs of $130 and $3210 to DOC for the 2097 kilograms of illegally caught fish mainly gurnard, trevally and snapper that was caught in the reserve, with an estimated wholesale value of $10,699.
A summary of facts described how Sharland, who owns the and operates the fishing vessel, Jay Belle, was returning to Nelson last December after departing on a fishing trip from Greymouth.
Sharland is normally shore-based but undertakes several fishing trips a year as the relief skipper.
On New Year’s Eve, the vessel was around 18.9 kilometres south of the Kahurangi Marine Reserve when it deployed a bottom trawl net. It travelled north and entered the marine reserve around 7.30pm for around an hour and a half, covering a distance of 8.74 km.
The following day, the incursion was detected by MPI’s geospatial management system.
Sharland said he did not intend to fish in the reserve and had recently spent a significant amount of money installing geospatial recognition software on the three vessels he owned.
MPI prosecutor Julie Wotton? said bottom trawling was one of the most destructive methods of fishing but at a depth of 46 metres, this had not been a deepwater trawl and there was no evidence of damage to the seafloor.
It was accepted Sharland did not intend to fish in the marine reserve and the vessel track showed he had skirted around the outside of another marine reserve that was further south.
There were some mitigating factors; he was not the vessel’s main skipper, the reserve co-ordinates had been entered in the plotter and Sharland knew of the reserve’s existence, just not where it was located.
It was not an area where the vessel normally fishes, normally they fish to the south on the West Coast and I understand he was heading home back to Nelson due to bad weather and was fishing on the way.
Defence lawyer Tony Stallard? said it was an unfortunate set of circumstances that led to the offending.
Sharland had not removed other layers on the plotter, so the area showing the marine reserve was not visible as he was dealing with an inexperienced crew at the time.
Stallard said Sharland had spent $20,000 installing cameras in the last year to ensure his vessel was compliant.
In my submission he is not an irresponsible fisher, it’s his lifelong career – he has been fishing since the age of 14.
Sharland had entered an early guilty plea, been co-operative and had a substantially clean record.
He ran a small commercial fishing operator, fishing other’s quota which was a lifestyle choice and provided a modest income. The business had been affected by Covid-19, with the revenue generated in the year ending September 30 less that half what it had been in the previous year.
Judge Tony Zohrab? said the Marine Reserves legislation was designed to provide the highest level of protection possible for the area and its marine life.
Here we have got a situation where bottom trawling was involved at a relatively shallow level so not the most destructive but it certainly wouldn’t have improved the sea floor.
Judge Zohrab said it was evident Sharland made a mistake on this occasion and set the starting point for the fine at $20,000, with discounts for an early guilty plea and background circumstances.
MPI regional manager compliance for the upper South Island Howard Reid? said MPI didn’t tolerate those who fished in areas closed to fishing.
While we accept the skipper did not mean to fish in the marine reserve, these rules are in place for good reason to protect the diversity of marine life on the sea floor and in the water. Protected marine life like the endangered Hector’s dolphins, seals, and seabirds do visit these areas.
MPI expect fishers to know the rules before they go out, this includes knowing the location of the boundary lines for marine reserves and taking care to avoid them.
MPI encourages fishing industry operators and non-commercial fishers to report any suspected illegal activity through the Ministry’s 0800 4 Poacher number (0800 4 76224).
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