Winning snapper smelled decidedly fishy

By KEVIN TAYLOR

Police are investigating allegations of fraud against an Auckland angler after a fish believed to have been kept on ice for 19 days was used to try to win a $20,000 fishing contest.

Organisers suspected something was amiss when the winning giant 14.3kg snapper was presented for weighing in at the contest headquarters in Matamata early this month.

The fish, said by the unnamed angler to have been caught in the Firth of Thames, was sent to Auckland and tested by seafood experts, who found it was too old to qualify.

One of the organisers of the New Zealand Chartered Clubs Kilwell fishing contest, Chris Bungard, said the fish did not look right.

"It was very old looking. It had very pale skin, sunken eyes, and scales falling off its belly region."

The fish showed signs of having been kept on ice.

Mr Bungard said Morrinsville police were investigating the incident, and a decision on whether fraud charges would be laid was expected this week.

The detective in charge of the case, Keith Kay, could not be contacted yesterday but Morrinsville police confirmed an investigation was under way.

The contest, held annually, attracted 300 anglers from around the country this year.

To qualify for the contest, the fish needed to have been caught between 6 am on December 2 and 6 pm the next day.

However, Mr Bungard said that tests on the Auckland angler's fish showed it was caught 17 to 19 days earlier.

A whole mullet and a kahawai head were reportedly found in the fish's stomach, apparently put there to boost its weight.



The fish has now been returned to its owner.

After the Aucklander was disqualified, the big prize went to the second placegetter, Matamata schoolboy Matthew Dalton.

The 15-year-old's fish weighed 14.2kg.

Matthew, who has fished all his life, said he would put the money in the bank and might use it to pay for university or polytechnic study.

Mr Bungard said the contest relied on participants' honesty, and he had never encountered such an incident before.

Herald Online Marine