Northland Facebook crayfish sales worrying

MPI Northland staff have found 6 incidents involving individuals offering crayfish for sale on various Facebook “buy/sell/swap” pages in the past 2 weeks.
It is illegal for people to buy, sell or swap their recreational catch and MPI is speaking to all involved.

MPI treat breaches of this nature seriously, people committing such offences risk facing prosecution and serious fines of up to $250,000 as well as forfeiture of any gear used in the commission of the offence.

This follows an MPI swoop in South Auckland in March where 5 properties were searched after being identified selling black market seafood from a Facebook page.

MPI Acting Northland District Compliance Manager Stephen Rudsdale says it is positive to see the public reaction to these sites, with most people realising this is illegal and posting messages indicating this to the sellers.

“We would like to remind the public, it is illegal to offer to sell, sell, trade and purchase seafood that has been recreationally taken.

“People who buy black market seafood also expose themselves to potential health risks, as there is no assurance that this product has been processed or stored hygienically.”

“If you happen to see anything of this nature on social media sites, take a screen shot and please contact MPI hotline 0800 4 POACHER (0800 4 762 243). All calls are confidential.”

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