Stricter penalties for breaching the NZ Fisheries Act 1996
The Issue
Given the increasing number of breaches in New Zealand’s Fisheries Act 1996 and the seemingly disproportionate penalties that are generally imposed on those in breach, I have started this petition to see what New Zealand thinks about our current application of penalties for breaches in the NZ Fisheries Act 1996.
The current Fisheries Act appears to provide all the appropriate remedies for justice to be served however time and time again poachers who have been caught well exceeding normal daily limits are fined disproportionately to the crime.
I am not talking about the father and son duo who get caught for having one or two fish which are borderline, we are focusing this petition on the clear poachers who exceed the local daily limit by more than three times.
In these cases, the poaches are often harvesting intentionally for the lucrative black market fish trade and tones of fish, shellfish and crustaceans make their way into homes and restaurants each year through this channel.
The low rate of prosecution and the vast untouched corners of New Zealand allow the average poacher to ply his trade. Its hard and costly for local authorities to obtain a prosecution so it’s no wonder that poaching is such an attractive option for some people.
Compared with other illegal activities such as drugs or prostitution you could speculate that it’s a viable business risk given the odds.
Time and time we see comments on forums from every day New Zealanders who are outraged by a poacher who is caught and then subsequently slapped with the minimum fine when clearly there is either a very big net being allowed for the stupid or rather that New Zealand’s crown prosecution service is afraid to impose harsher sanctions and so the cycle continues.
I think it’s time New Zealand stood up for its local authority and supported a sustainable local fishery without risk of being totally overwhelmed by those that wish to ruin it for generations to come.
Please sign this petition if you would like to see harsher penalties given for breaches that exceed 3 times the local daily limit.
- George Alexander
Father, Fisherman, Friend of the sea
The Issue
Given the increasing number of breaches in New Zealand’s Fisheries Act 1996 and the seemingly disproportionate penalties that are generally imposed on those in breach, I have started this petition to see what New Zealand thinks about our current application of penalties for breaches in the NZ Fisheries Act 1996.
The current Fisheries Act appears to provide all the appropriate remedies for justice to be served however time and time again poachers who have been caught well exceeding normal daily limits are fined disproportionately to the crime.
I am not talking about the father and son duo who get caught for having one or two fish which are borderline, we are focusing this petition on the clear poachers who exceed the local daily limit by more than three times.
In these cases, the poaches are often harvesting intentionally for the lucrative black market fish trade and tones of fish, shellfish and crustaceans make their way into homes and restaurants each year through this channel.
The low rate of prosecution and the vast untouched corners of New Zealand allow the average poacher to ply his trade. Its hard and costly for local authorities to obtain a prosecution so it’s no wonder that poaching is such an attractive option for some people.
Compared with other illegal activities such as drugs or prostitution you could speculate that it’s a viable business risk given the odds.
Time and time we see comments on forums from every day New Zealanders who are outraged by a poacher who is caught and then subsequently slapped with the minimum fine when clearly there is either a very big net being allowed for the stupid or rather that New Zealand’s crown prosecution service is afraid to impose harsher sanctions and so the cycle continues.
I think it’s time New Zealand stood up for its local authority and supported a sustainable local fishery without risk of being totally overwhelmed by those that wish to ruin it for generations to come.
Please sign this petition if you would like to see harsher penalties given for breaches that exceed 3 times the local daily limit.
- George Alexander
Father, Fisherman, Friend of the sea
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on 25 January 2017