'Element of fiction' to catch reports

Fisheries investigators believe commercial vessels are misreporting hundreds of tonnes of unwanted fish to avoid penalty fees.

A study of the 2005 South Island West Coast hoki fishery found trawlers with observers reported catching hundreds more tonnes of various species of fish than vessels without observers.

However, the industry said catch profiles differed for various reasons and that the problem was not widespread.

Commercial fishermen have to report catches of non-target, or by-catch, fish.

They pay a penalty, or deemed value, to the Crown for every kilogram of fish they do not have the right to land.

Ministry of Fisheries investigators studying 2005 hoki-catch records concluded that the chances of such varied catches being concurrently landed were "minuscule".

They said the catches reported by vessels without observers contained "large elements of fiction".

The ministry's investigation services head, Shaun Driscoll, said the issue was not confined to the hoki fishery. Seven major deepwater and inshore investigations in the past 12 months suggested serious long-term misreporting.

Misreporting maximised fishing profits and undermined New Zealand's quota management system, he said.

It could harm fish stocks because the annual commercial catch limits for individual species and fish-stock assessments were based on reported commercial catches.

For example, an estimated 150 tonnes of ling, worth at least $500,000 in deemed value, was unreported in the South Island West Coast hoki fishery in 2005. The ministry did not pursue prosecutions from the 2005 hoki study because the evidence may not have stood up in a court, he said.

DeepWater Group fisheries specialist Richard Wells said fishing methods, speeds, areas fished and gear used changed catch profiles.

The ministry and the industry had made considerable compliance advances in the past three years and were working together on the issue, Wells said.

Company investment in fishing was huge and based on maintaining sustainable wild stocks, he said.

"I see misreporting as rogue individual events, rather than a systemic problem."

The ministry's national compliance manager, Andrew Coleman, said he preferred to work with the industry on solutions before enforcing compliance.

Coleman said the key was understanding the industry's point of view and planning for the future.

- © Fairfax NZ News