Ministry of Primary Industries officials have visited a man accused of stealing oysters to ''educate'' him on legal and food safety issues. Earlier this month Whangaroa oyster farmer Owen Robertson took Robert Rika, of Waitaruke, to the Disputes Tribunal alleging he and his son had taken shellfish from his farm then sold them on the South Auckland Food Facebook page.
An MPI spokeswoman said the agency was aware of the incident but because it related to farmed oysters, not wild oysters, it was up to police to investigate rather than MPI. That was because farmed oysters were not covered by the Fisheries Act 1996 but were an individual's property. However, MPI staff did visit Rika, whose son had allegedly sold the shellfish, to ''provide him with educational advice around the illegality of the practice of selling stolen farmed oysters and advise him of the food safety issues related to selling seafood on social media platforms''. Rika denies the allegations, saying the oysters he collected were from rocks in another part of the harbour.
Strong interest in apartments
Ten of the 30 one- and two-bedroom apartments being built at Kerikeri Retirement Village have already been sold with ''strong interest'' in the remaining 20. Construction is expected to be complete in May next year. Village manager Frances Shaw said she had sent out information packs to people in Northland, Auckland and beyond, and a ''virtual open day'' would be held in Kerikeri from 3-6pm on December 12. Project architects would take people on a virtual tour of the building and show them a studio with a sample kitchen and some of the materials and furnishings to be used. More details available from village reception.
Fisheries bylaw proposed
