Amaltal defends charge of illegal fishing in protected maritime reserve

Monday, 10 August 2020

The Amaltal Mariner strayed into a protected marine reserve during a fishing trip in March 2019.

A Nelson-based company charged with illegal fishing in a marine reserve has argued the vessel’s skipper was solely responsible for the breach.

Representatives for Amaltal Fishing were in the Nelson District Court on Monday, defending a charge of illegal fishing in the Hikurangi Marine Reserve in Kaikōura .

The Ministry for Primary Industries brought the charges against Amaltal, which is wholly-owned by fishing company Talleys.

At an earlier hearing, the vessel’s skipper Darryle Saunders pleaded guilty to the same charge and was convicted and fined $15,525.

* Amaltal skipper fined $15,525 for fishing in marine reserve

* Amaltal skipper to plead guilty for fishing in marine reserve

A view of the Kaikōura coast at South Bay, with the Hikurangi Marine Reserve in the background (file photo).

Judge Jo Rielly was presiding over the judge-alone trial, with both prosecution and defence concluding their arguments on Monday.

Through the agreed summary of facts the court heard that on March 12, 2019, the Amaltal Mariner set sail from Nelson to the east coast of the South Island to fish for orange roughy.

The skipper, Saunders, was issued a catch plan for the trip which included directions to avoid all closed or restricted fishing areas – and stressed the captain’s responsibility to make sure those zones were accurate on the ship’s plotting devices.

However, while the reserve had been marked on a paper chart on board the vessel, it had not been marked on either of the vessel’s electronic devices.

The reserve was first established in 2014, with Land Information New Zealand updating its nautical charts to include the reserve in 2016.

Initially the Mariner had been fishing to the east and south of the reserve, but strayed about 900m into the reserve during a bottom trawl on March 17.

About 104kg of fish was reported being caught in the trawl, which was then sold for $489.58 (along with the rest of the catch for the trip).

Throughout the course of the trawl, Saunders said had no idea he was inside a restricted zone.

The breach was detected by MPI through its geospatial monitoring system, which is activated if a vessel enters a restricted or prohibited fishing area.

Following the breach, Talley’s arranged for their vessels’ plotters to include the reserve, and geofencing systems were also installed.

MPI prosecutor Julie Wotton said while Saunders, as an employee of Talleys, had been convicted of the charges, it did not exclude the possibility another party could be liable.

Wotton said as the permit holder and registered operator of the vessel, under the Fisheries Act Amaltal was responsible for the breach under the principles of strict liability.

She said there was also no reasonable excuse for not knowing where the marine reserve was, or failing to put it on their electronic plotting system.

She said it was “inexplicable” that nothing had been done, especially when the marine reserve had been in existence for more than four years at the time of the breach.

Defence lawyer Honor Lanham said as the offence was a breach of the Marine Reserves Act rather than the Fisheries Act, it was “entirely irrelevant” that Amaltal had the permit – as nobody was permitted to fish in a marine reserve anyway.

Lanham said in that instance what mattered was who did the physical act of catching the fish – which was Saunders.

She said it was unfair to attribute Saunders’ actions to Amaltal, when Saunders had no direct contractual relationship with Amaltal, or responsibility for any of its operation.

Judge Rielly has reserved her decision.