Skipper, company ordered to pay $22k

A Hawke's Bay fishing company and a trawler skipper have been hit with fines and costs of more than $22,000 for what their lawyer says were "lower-end" offences which did not involve any financial gain.

The penalties were imposed by Judge Bridget Mackintosh in Napier District Court on Wednesday, and comprised fines totaling $12,700 and costs of $1560 against fishing quota-holding company Esplanade No 3, and $7500 and costs of $650 against skipper David Loye, of Tauranga.

The admitted 12 offences related to failure to complete fishery catch returns, and Loye admitted five charges of making false or misleading statements relating to the size of the catches.

Company director Nino D'Esposito said the company could have defended the charges laid by the Ministry of Primary Industries, but for the time and the extra cost involved.

They were "paperwork" regulatory offences and infringements, he said. Comparatively they were like "parking tickets".

The offences involved vessels fishing off the South Island coast for another company, and Esplanade lawyer Tony Snell said his clients believed the documents relating to the catches had been filed correctly by the "third party".

Mr Snell said there was no issue of financial gain or excessive fishing, and the penalties indicated that this was accepted by the court. The maximum penalty available for the most serious offences would have been $100,000 each, and four of the offences were "infringements" at a cost of $400 each.

The Ministry's summary said completing catch returns was a fundamental statutory requirement of commercial fishing, and the company had been warned several times in the past three years, and had faced infringement notices in the past, and been in court five times.

In defence of the company, Mr Snell said the directors operated Hawke's Bay's largest fleet, with 18 vessels and provided jobs for up to 300 people at sea and on land. They had been significant contributors to the community of Hawke's Bay, he said.

The directors were fined almost $1 million in the early 90s after defending multiple charges related to reports and catches the courts ruled were illegal.