Official says he was 'sacked' at point of scampi exposure

A Fisheries Ministry official has told a parliamentary inquiry he was effectively sacked just as he was about to expose illegal fishing practices in fishing company Simunovich.

Parliament's primary production select committee is investigating claims Simunovich illegally stitched up access to the $100 million industry by colluding with fisheries officials.

Former senior police officer and fisheries investigator Barry Nalder yesterday told MPs he was first suspended and then found guilty of incompetence and misconduct.

He linked the disciplinary action to his investigations into Simunovich, but stopped short of offering any evidence of illegal fishing.

Mr Nalder was at the centre of the corruption claims which launched the inquiry after he aired them on a television programme.

Simunovich has denied the charges and said it would sue.

Mr Nalder believed he was effectively sacked due to a "hidden agenda within the ministry".

"I also have some difficulty in understanding why the deputy group director directed I stop investigating Simunovich Fisheries and instead I was told to investigate other companies allegedly overfishing snapper in the Hauraki Gulf .

"This most certainly was of immense benefit to Simunovich Fisheries, because I was getting very close to the stage of seizing their boats and company records and placing them before the courts."

When asked about evidence, Mr Nalder said all his files from the ministry were not available to him.

Mr Nalder told MPs he believed Simunovich had inflated fishing returns about how much scampi it caught.

He no longer had a video of illegal packing at the Auckland fishing company and other evidence had not been gathered before he lost his job.

Mr Nalder said he had pursued Simunovich because he did not believe its catch history would stand up to scrutiny.

He also said he had been motivated by his unfair treatment at the hands of the ministry.

"My suspension on each occasion and eventual severance from the ministry was unjust. This has been a source of anger and disappointment which has gnawed at me for nearly 10 years."

Mr Nalder was first suspended after the ministry said he overspent the budget during an illegal fisheries investigation. He believed he did nothing wrong and was the victim of office politics.

Mr Nalder was later also found guilty of misconduct by the ministry after it said he illegally altered a fishing company's catch returns. He told the committee he was authorised to make the changes and ministry officials had overreacted.

An early retirement package was negotiated with him.

The inquiry has heard allegations that Simunovich created false fishing returns. Similar claims have been made against other companies, including Simunovich's main accuser Barine Developments.

It also heard that fisheries officials favoured Simunovich over other companies in the issuing of fishing permits.

Mr Nalder told MPs he did not know of any inappropriate behaviour in the issuing of permits to Simunovich.

Simunovich managing director Peter Simunovich told MPs the company had played "hard but fair" to gain a large chunk of the $100 million fishery.

The majority of the claims against the Auckland-based company have been made by rival company Barine Developments and its managing director Neil Penwarden.

The inquiry was set up after a TVNZ Assignment programme claimed Mr Nalder received a $1 million payout to leave the ministry and to ensure that no investigation into Simunovich took place.

Mr Nalder has confirmed he had received less than $70,000 and told MPs he was embarrassed by the payout claim.

During questioning, New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters said he had investigated the corruption claims and could not get witnesses to stick to their story.

Mr Nalder said he was confident he would have turned up evidence if he had been able to continue the work.

- NZPA