Crew of Oyang 75 sentenced

21 September 2012

Crew of Oyang 75 sentenced

Four Korean crew of the fishing vessel, Oyang 75, were sentenced by Judge Saunders in the Christchurch District Court today.

The Judge sentenced each man according to their culpability in the offending. Captain Chong Pil Yun received the highest level fines totalling $208, 500, Minsu Park the Chief Officer was fined a total of $121,000, Wongeun Kang the Deck Bosun was fined $60,000, and Jun Cheol Lee the Radio Operator was fined $35,000. The Factory Manager was convicted and will be sentenced at a later date.

The offending took place between March 2011 and June 2011. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) laid a range of charges against the men under the Fisheries Act 1996 for misreporting and illegal dumping of fish. It was conservatively estimated that 405 tonnes of Quota Species mainly Hoki valued between $800,000 and $1.4 million was dumped.

The Oyang 75 was operated in New Zealand waters under a foreign charter arrangement by the New Zealand Company Southern Storm Fishing Limited.

MPI Canterbury/Westland District Compliance Manager, Peter Hyde says that commercial fishing largely relies on the honesty of fishers and fishing companies.

"In this case there was a serious breach of trust in reporting catches of quota fish species which is very disappointing to see," says Mr Hyde.

"The dumping of damaged and small quota fish allowed the crew to maximise financial return through landing better quality, higher value fish."

MPI started investigating the Oyang 75 after an MPI Observer reported her concerns of illegal fish dumping. The investigation included interviewing the 32 Indonesian crew who had worked on the vessel during the two trips the offending took place.

"Six of the Indonesian crew remained in New Zealand to give evidence at a hearing in June this year. We are very grateful for their support and would not have achieved a prosecution without them," says Mr Hyde.

"Dumping of quota species undermines the integrity of the quota management system, and is also wasteful.

"Our fisheries are an important resource that we all have a responsibility for sustaining, and this includes commercial fishers. The New Zealand commercial fishing industry has a good level of compliance however there is a minority that simply refuse to comply and end up paying the price for their actions."

Fisheries resources in New Zealand are managed by a Quota Management System (QMS). The QMS was first introduced by Parliament in 1986 and was reformed under the Fisheries Act 1996.

**Background**

Under the Fisheries Act, quota species cannot be "dumped" by a commercial fisher unless the fish is not of legal size (in which case it must be immediately returned to the sea whether dead or alive) or it is a stock listed in Schedule 6 of the Fisheries Act (a protected species).

A commercial fisher who unlawfully dumps fish commits an offence and is liable for a penalty of up to $250,000.

However, it is not an offence if the fish dumped was parts of fish lawfully processed on the vessel, or was dumped to ensure vessel or crew safety, or the dumping was authorised and overseen by an observer or fisheries officer and was reported.

The Government has since taken steps to change the rules for operation of foreign-owned fishing vessels, to strengthen compliance with New Zealand fishing, safety and labour law.

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