Pair convicted of large-scale trout poaching

Two men who refused to recognise the court's authority to deal with them have been convicted of large-scale trout poaching.

Thomas Tawha, 41, of Kawerau and Dave Pake Leef, 42, of Te Teko faced seven poaching-related charges between them when they appeared before Judge James Weir in the Rotorua District Court today.

Tawha faced five poaching-related charges, two in June and three in July, the latter in tandem with Leef.

At a previous hearing they'd refused to plead to the charges but a judge entered not guilty pleas on their behalf.

When Tawha told Judge Weir he needed to remove himself form the Bench the judge responded by telling him he and Leef would be arrested and held in custody if they continued to obstruct proceedings.

"Are you clear about that?" he asked.

The pair didn't reply but the hearing continued without further interruptions although they refused to accept documents handed to them by the Fish & Game New Zealand prosecutor, tossing them on the floor.

Before the hearing began Tawha argued the pair were entitled to take trout from a spawning stream feeding into Lake Rotoiti because they were tangata whenua and had customary rights.

In evidence he claimed they had authority from their lands' incorporation to take the trout for a tangi in July and feed their families.

Eastern Fish & Game officer Anthony van Dorp told the court after complaints of poaching from the Lake Rotoiti spawning stream he found a hole cut in a deer fence close to it and installed a surveillance camera.

Tawha was later identified as one of the men caught on footage; challenged, he didn't dispute he'd been there but refused to identify others pictured.

In July Mr van Dorp found Leef inside the fence, a young boy was with him.

"I asked him what he was doing there, he said 'just getting kai', that he'd got about six trout and was teaching his son how to fish. He demonstrated a tickling motion," Mr van Dorp said.

Trout threaded on a rope were lying near the stream.

A second officer Nigel Simpson told how he and police constable heard rustling in the bush near the stream and found a sodden Leef there with dead trout nearby.

"I asked him what he was doing and he said he wasn't a criminal, that he was
food gathering," Mr Simpson said.

Convicting the pair on each count Judge Weir urged them to seek proper legal representation before they're sentenced on January 12. "Be it on your own heads if you don't," he said, warning them they could be facing jail sentences.

Fish & Game prosecutor Mike Body submitted that penalties for trout poaching had doubled in the past year.

Outside the court he said each charge the pair was convicted of carried 2 years imprisonment, a $100,000 fine or both.

Fish & Game spokesman Grant Dyson said Tawha and Leef had stolen from the community and law-abiding anglers who paid for licenses to fish so they could put food on their families' tables.