Local man fined for fishing in marine reserve
Date: 19 May 2008
A retired man from Leigh was recently convicted in the Warkworth District Court for fishing in the Goat Island marine reserve.
The 68 year old was fined $750 plus court costs after he pleaded guilty to fishing inside the boundary of the marine reserve on May 4, 2007.
The man was found by a New Zealand Customs Service vessel that was passing by the reserve at the time. He had four fishing lines in the water, and denied he was within the reserve, however, a Customs Officer using GPS and radar showed he was 161 metres inside the north western boundary.
The man claimed a concentration lapse had caused him to be within the reserve, however, in sentencing, Judge Lawrence Ryan commented that he went further than a mere lapse when he anchored his boat and kept fishing without checking his GPS.
DOC investigator Richard Bray said the case made it clear that being inattentive near a marine reserve is not a reasonable excuse. Mr Bray also praised the actions of the New Zealand Customs Service.
"This sends a message to boaties in the vicinity of marine reserves that they never quite know who may be watching them," he said.
He said it was disappointing the man was a local resident, as on the whole locals respect and help protect this marine reserve. The man was only the second local resident prosecuted in the past 12 years.
Cape Rodney to Okakari Point Marine Reserve (commonly known as Goat Island marine reserve) was established in 1975, and is an important reserve for scientific study, with the University of Auckland marine laboratory located nearby.
The reserve is one of New Zealand's most popular and receives up to 300,000 visitors each year, most of who are there to look and learn, and respect the restrictions on taking marine life. In the past nine years there have been 15 prosecutions for illegally taking marine life from the reserve, with 12 of those cases resulting in fines and the remainder involving custodial sentences.
Under the Marine Reserves Act people can be fined up to $10,000 or be imprisoned for up to three months and have all their gear forfeited, for taking marine life from a marine reserve.
ENDS