A fishing company and the master of one of its vessels have been found guilty of 14 charges of breaching the conditions of a high seas fishing permit.
The verdicts relate to a 2018 incident when the Amaltal Apollo, whose master at the time was Charles Shuttleworth, bottom trawled in a protected area in the Tasman Sea, west of New Zealand.
This was in violation of the Fisheries Act and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) brought legal action against Shuttleworth and Amaltal Fishing Co Limited - registered to Port Nelson - which is a subsidiary of the business that owns the vessel.
“This judgement should send a strong message that skippers and the companies they work for need to be diligent and ensure these types of breaches don’t occur," says Niamh Murphy, MPI National Manager Fisheries Compliance.
Murphy says the area Amaltal Apollo fished in was closed to trawling by rules that are part of New Zealand’s international obligations to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems.
"When we find evidence of rule breaches such as fishing in a closed area occurring – we will investigate."
Nelson District Court has yet to set a sentencing date.
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