Through counsel Kim Proctor-Weston, Cando Fishing Ltd and its sole director Campbell McManaway today entered guilty pleas to 16 charges, 11 pertaining to the company and five to Campbell.
The charges laid by the cover the period from October 7, 2019 to March 24, 2020 and include making false statements about net sizes, omitting information about species taken, failing to supply disposal reports and unlawfully discarding 300kg of dead paua.
Judge Kevin Phillips made the summary of facts available to media yesterday.
He had recorded 60m of net had been used when in fact 1440m of net was used in an area where commercial bulk fishing methods are prohibited or restricted.
The maximum length of commercial nets allowed to be used in the area is 1000m.
When interviewed he said he was unaware of the restrictions and had likely set more than 2500m of net at any one time during the previous 10 years.
On February 4, 2020, McManaway recorded he had caught butterfish and blue moki only.
A Fisheries observer recorded as well as the two species, blue cod, rock lobster, tarakihi, trumpeter, seven-gilled shark, banded wrasse, copper moki and Antarctic rock cod had also been caught.
The company also failed to accurately account for dead paua it had disposed of.
While it later amended its disposal report to include a dumping of 300kg of dead paua, if it had not done so the company would have had access to an additional 300kg of paua in its annual catch entitlement, the summary says.
At a court sentencing earlier this year, Cando Fishing was fined $3750 for failing to provide a sales invoice for $6000 of paua in 2018. At the time Judge Russell Walker said an aggravating aspect of the offending was that the company had appeared on similar charges in 2014 and 2015.
Today, Ms Proctor-Weston said she would make application for a banning of fishing not to apply. This would need to be given judicial consideration at sentencing on November 24.
Automatic forfeiture of the vessel will now take place as the company and defendant have been convicted of the charges.
Karen Pasco
PIJF court reporter
