New Napier fishery officer Joshua Clayton modelling the new body camera. He begun training with it for the first time on Friday. Photo / Warren Buckland
New Napier fishery officer Joshua Clayton modelling the new body camera. He begun training with it for the first time on Friday. Photo / Warren Buckland
Eight Napier fisheries officers will trial body cameras to our shores and seas following an "increasing risk of physical assault".
Napier was one of several places selected by the Ministry for Primary Industries for a trial of the new body cameras at the end of November.
MPI director compliance servicesGary Orr said footage will be used to protect the health and safety of staff.
"If the person the officer is interacting with becomes obstructive, either verbally or physically, it may be used as evidence for prosecutions. The use of body-worn cameras will help fishery officers to de-escalate situations where they feel threatened. They will also prevent undesirable behaviours," he said.
He said MPI fishery officers and honorary fishery officers work in an environment that increasingly exposes them to the risk of physical assault.
Napier was selected as a pilot site along with Masterton and Petone, while officers in Wellington and the Chatham Islands have also been selected for training with the cameras.
"This ensures that we have a wide range of users across the pilot. MPI manages these sites under the same regional structure, which allows us to gather feedback on fit and functionality quickly and easily."
The small camera mounted on the front of the protective vests is intended to deter bad behaviour and protect officers wearing the devices. Photo / Warren Buckland
A nationwide rollout is expected to cost $982,000.
Orr said MPI is assessing the privacy impact of the collection, use, storage and release of personal information captured by body-worn cameras in recognition of the potential privacy risks.
He said under current measures, officers will advise the public they are activating the camera if it is safe; footage not required as evidence will only be kept for 60 days; only a small number of approved staff have access to downloaded footage, with clear guidelines on how and why they can access it; and training for officers covers the privacy and security implications of the footage.
He said the information and insights from the evaluation will support the nationwide rollout of body-worn cameras to officers in the remaining weeks of this year or in 2022.
Mike Terry, president of the Napier Fishermen's Association, said the body cameras were a good idea as he'd seen how fishery officers often had a hard time dealing with black marketers and poachers.
"I think it's a great idea, because half the time if they're by themselves they're not too keen to see what's going on and I don't blame them either."
He said that as well as providing protection, the cameras should also be an effective deterrent for illegal activity.
"I think it might stop a lot of it, if they know it's getting recorded, what they're doing."
Meanwhile, a bylaw prohibiting the taking of kina, rock lobster, mussels and pāua from within the Te Hoe Mātaitai Reserve in Māhia took effect this week.
Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, David Parker, made the decision to approve the bylaw banning the taking of shellfish on Tuesday, with it coming into effect on Friday.
Commercial fishers were already excluded from the mātaitai, but the bylaw will also apply to non-commercial fishers to ensure sustainable utilisation of fishery resources.
According to the Ministry for Primary Industries website, the Tangata Kaitiaki/Tiaki proposed the bylaws after noticing a serious decline in the number and size of shellfish species in their rohe moana from Waikokopu to Opoutama within the Te Hoe Mātaitai Reserve.
They were also concerned about the impact of land-based activities on the near-shore reefs, the high rate at which non-commercial fishers access the reefs, and increasing illegal fishing activities.
MPI said the Tangata Kaitiaki/Tiaki planned to monitor the health of the shellfish beds to see how they respond to the proposed bylaws to inform future community management of the species.
