Two commercial fishermen have been convicted and fined after a commercial set net was found to be blocking off almost all of the entrance to a bay in the Manukau Harbour.
Members of the public reported the offending to the Ministry for Primary Industries in July last year after one of the men was twice spotted setting and retrieving a commercial set net from a vessel in Symonds Bay.
The net had effectively blocked off more than a quarter of the bay, MPI said in a statement this afternoon.
It said the second man, who's the owner of the vessel and holds the commercial fishing permit the vessel was operating under, was not on the vessel on the days in question but admitted he failed to provide proper training or direction to his skipper.
Both men were fined $1000 each when they appeared in the Waitakere District Court last week and the $20,000 aluminium vessel at the centre of the offending was ordered forfeit to the Crown.
MPI spokesman Stephen Rudsdale said fishery officers later spoke to the fisherman who said he was aware of the restrictions in channels but didn’t know the rules about bays.
"MPI acted on the information the public provided us and this has resulted in both the fisherman and the owner of the vessel being financially penalised," he said.
The case is a timely reminder for all commercial fishers to ensure they're aware of the rules around set-netting in bays, Mr Rusdale said.
"Offences of this nature are very difficult to investigate and, ultimately, prosecute but our job was made much easier by the efforts of the public," he said.
Mr Rudsdale is urging people to ring the 08004POACHER line (0800 476 224) if they see any suspicious 'on the water' activity.
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