An Auckland fish trader has been fined $360,000, and an employee has been jailed for three years and seven months for receiving and distributing thousands of dollars in illegally caught fish.
Sea World Limited, which traded as Seamart, and employee Marco Taukatelata were sentenced at the Auckland District Court on two charges under the Fisheries Act.
A former company director, Haihong Liu, was also sentenced to 12 months of home detention on two charges under the Fisheries Act, including attempting to pervert the course of justice.
“SeaWorld was both a Licenced Fish Receiver (LFR) and a Dealer in Fish (DIF), which means it could legally receive fish from commercial fishers and distribute that fish to retailers,” said Fisheries New Zealand director of fisheries compliance, Steve Ham.
“As part of our investigation, fishery officers found that between December 2018 and November 2019, this company, acting as an LFR, illegally supplied fish valued at over $348,000 to other seafood companies.
He added that these fish were not recorded correctly and were not reported as landed or received legally by Sea World. This was deliberate stealth stealing that fell outside the Quota Management System.
The fish taken included 38,202 kilograms of snapper, 2,761 kilograms of kahawai, and 1,760 kilograms of grey mullet, and the total cash benefit to SeaWorld was approximately $348,304.03.
“This offending would not have been possible without the direct involvement of Mr Taukatelata or the assistance of Ms Liu. Our investigation found most of the 97 transactions conducted during the investigation period were in cash. This was a deliberate attempt to hide the transactions; the motivation was financial greed.”
He also said that the court's response should send a strong message to anyone involved in dealing with black market fish, whether at a low level or commercial level and that it was only a matter of time before they would be caught.
Along with the sentences, a transport truck owned by Sea World and $20,000 cash were forfeited to the Crown.
While this part of the case has been completed, other defendants still need to appear before the court on criminal charges.
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