Amaltal and skipper guilty of fishing in closed area

Amaltal Fishing Co Limited, along with the master of its fishing vessel, the Amaltal Apollo, have been found guilty of 14 charges of breaching the conditions of a high seas fishing permit, despite having an MPI observer on board.

Amaltal Fishing Co Limited is a subsidiary of Talley’s Group Limited, which owns the vessel. The vessel’s master at the time was Charles Shuttleworth.

Amaltal Apollo bottom trawled in a protected area on Lord Howe Rise, in the Tasman Sea West of New Zealand in 2018, in contravention of the Fisheries Act 1996.

The area was closed to bottom fishing by the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO) - an inter-governmental organisation, committed to the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the fishery resources of the South Pacific Ocean and safeguarding its marine ecosystems.

Amaltal’s Tony Hazlett  said the area in which the vessel fished unintentionally in 2018 had previously been open to fishing and had been recently closed.

At the time of the incident, there was also an MPI observer on board the Amaltal Apollo, who was also unaware that the area had been recently closed to fishing.

On 28 February, Judge David Ruth convicted the former Amaltal Apollo captain Charles Shuttleworth, in the Nelson District Court, on charges of fishing in violation of a condition of a High Seas Permit, when he was master of the Amaltal Apollo in May 2018.

On 4 March 2022, Judge Ruth found Amaltal guilty of the same charges.

The guilty decision was released by Nelson District Court on Friday, 4 March, following a successful prosecution by Ministry of Primary Industries.  

The Court is still to set a sentence date.

Tony said that since 2018, the company has invested significantly in additional electronic systems for monitoring the operation of its fishing vessels.

Tony said the company’s liability arises from the company being vicariously and strictly liable for the activities of the captain, notwithstanding it had no knowledge of nor took any part in the offending.

“Amaltal didn’t direct, consent, agree or direct the captain to fish in a closed area,” said Hazlett. “The captain made an error, which the company was unaware of at the time. As soon as it was known, we acted immediately. The captain has also acknowledged and did not try to conceal his errors, and he and the company has co-operated fully with MPI in their investigation into the incident."

MPI national manager fisheries compliance, Niamh Murphy says, they expect fishing companies and their skippers to be fully aware of all areas closed to fishing.

“This judgment should send a strong message that skippers and the companies they work for need to be diligent and ensure these types of breaches don’t occur. This includes having the correct systems in place.

“The rules are there for a reason. We expect fishing companies and skippers to know and understand their obligations before they go to sea,” she says.

An MPI spokesperson says the Court did not find the argument that there was an observer on board convincing and nor does MPI.

"The judgment says the Observer has no powers to monitor or control navigational issues. The conditions of the fishing company’s high seas permit that was onboard the vessel made it very clear where the vessel was permitted to fish."

They said the responsibility for the vessel Amaltal Apollo’s navigation and ensuring it is fishing in the right area is that of the fishing company and master, as the Court clearly found.

"They had ample opportunity to understand the rules as the area they fished in was closed in 2015 – three years before the offending occurred," said the spokesperson.

"Amaltal takes the sustainability of the marine environments where we fish very seriously, and does not condone illegal fishing in any circumstances,” Tony said.

Niamh says the area Amaltal Apollo fished in was closed to trawling by rules that are part of New Zealand’s international obligations to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems.

“The international community has established a strict management regime to protect the seafloor, ecosystems and marine species that live there from bottom trawling.

She says commercial fishers need to ensure they have the correct systems in place to avoid these situations occurring.

"When we find evidence of rule breaches such as fishing in a closed area occurring – we will investigate,” she says.

Niamh Murphy encourages fishing industry operators and non-commercial fishers to report any suspected illegal activity through the Ministry’s 0800 4 POACHER line (0800 4 76224).