AMALTAL APOLLO

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Fishing company fined and trawler confiscated; skipper fined for illegal fishing

The Amaltal Fishing Company has taken the lion's share of penalty for illegal fishing, for which the vessel's skipper was also blamed, has been convicted and fined $59,500, while the 'Amaltal Apollo', was forfeited, as was fishing equipment and $127,000 worth of fish caught from closed grounds in 2018. The sale proceeds from the 22 tonnes of fish caught had been held, pending the sentencing. Skipper Charles Shuttleworth was also convicted in the Nelson District Court today and fined $12,000 for what Judge David Ruth said was an honest mistake, borne from lack of guidance before setting off on his first deep-sea trip. The offences related to a total of 14 trawls in two tranches over 10 days in a protected area on Lord Howe Rise, in the Tasman Sea west of New Zealand. The area was closed to bottom fishing by the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation; 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.