Fishing company fined $59,000, vessel seized after illegal trawling
Thursday, 1 September 2022
A deep sea fishing company has had its vessel seized and fined $59,000 after illegal 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 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.
**READ MORE:
* Talley's subsidiary found guilty of trawling in conservation area
* Fishing boat seized after crew caught set netting in prohibited area
* Amaltal conviction for illegal fishing overturned
* Illegal trawling trial concludes after 10-month hiatus
**
Reading from court documents, Judge David Ruth described how Shuttleworth, despite his 40-year experience, had never worked on the high seas.
On the voyage, the captain relied on a sea plotting device with out-of-date information instead of a high seas permit, which would have given him the latest information, Ruth said.
A briefing before the voyage concentrated on “where to find fish”, and did not mention the permit, Ruth said. “The up-to-date information was available, but that did not come to Mr Shuttleworth’s attention.”
Shuttleworth, 58, has since been demoted from his captain position, resulting in a significant loss of income, Ruth said.
Since the offending, Amaltal has made efforts to improve procedures, Ruth said. They employ geofencing (GPS technology that creates a virtual boundary), and go on board with skippers to go over the technology and the permit ahead of a voyage, Ruth said.
While the first option was not available at the time of the offending, the second should have been procedure anyway, Ruth said.
“This was not only obvious, but very much a low-tech solution that were available at the time of offending, and should have been employed by a diligent employer.”
The trawls netted Amaltal a “significant amount of fish”, and took place over a “substantial time period, Ruth said.
Amaltal and Shuttleworth were convicted of the charges. As well as the $59,000 fine, Ruth ordered the forfeiture of the vessel, equipment and the fish. The skipper was fined $12,000.
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.”
While the vessel would be seized by the crown, Amaltal could apply for relief for forfeiture, and could continue to use the vessel until the process was concluded, Orr said.
Amaltal chief executive officer Tony Hazlett said the company was disappointed with the sentencing.
“Amaltal didn’t direct, consent, agree or direct the vessel to fish in a closed area,” said Hazlett.
“Amaltal takes the sustainability of the marine environments where we fish very seriously, and does not condone illegal fishing in any circumstances.”
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story referred to the Amaltal Apollo bottom-trawling in Lord Howe Rise following information from the Ministry for Primary Industries. MPI have since corrected their statement to say the vessel was just trawling. (Amended September 2, 2022, 10.38am.)