Poachers' sentences attacked

The community service sentence handed down to Maori activist Te Kaha for his role in a blackmarket paua ring is "totally inappropriate", says Fisheries Minister David Benson-Pope.

And Te Tai Tokerau MP Dover Samuels said the sentence undermined negotiated rights allowing Maori customary use of their fisheries.

Te Kaha was sentenced on Thursday to 320 hours of community service by Judge Charles Blackie in the Manukau District Court, along with his nephew, Trent John Karaitiana, who was sentenced to 350 hours'.

The pair admitted charges of conspiring to defraud the public after about 100kg of paua was sold to an undercover fisheries officer in 2003.

The Ministry of Fisheries (MFish) said yesterday that it might appeal against the sentence.

The Paua Industry Council has also criticised the sentence as inadequate. Chief executive Jeremy Cooper said penalties including jail or fines were needed.

Poaching was causing a lot of damage to the fishery, Mr Cooper said.

Outdoor Recreation NZ chairman Paul Check called the sentence a "wet bus ticket", adding that the country's fisheries would continue to be plundered until tougher sentences were imposed.

"The man should be in jail," he said.

Mr Benson-Pope said MFish was "beefing up" its links with other agencies, such as Customs and police, to help stop paua poaching.

It was understood big volumes of paua were being sold on the black market and he wanted a new approach to stop the trade.

As part of the concerted campaign, penalties would be substantial, with the loss of vehicles and boats a matter of course, said Mr Benson-Pope.

Mr Benson-Pope said there was no customary take for paua - there were cases where Maori tribal officials could agree to paua fishing for a special occasion.

Mr Samuels said the type of sentence imposed on Te Kaha and his nephew sent the wrong message to those involved in blackmarket fishery operations.

"And those who exploit our inshore fisheries using some sort of bogus exemption or argument under the Treaty of Waitangi demean their iwi and its members when they are prosecuted for breaches of the Fisheries Act," Mr Samuels said.

- STAFF REPORTER, NZPA