'Undersized' supermarket crays 'legal'

Members of the public who see what they believe are the sale of ‘undersized’ crayfish in the supermarket should report the fact to their nearest Ministry of Fisheries office.

Palmerston North’s George Zander did just that and found the crayfish had come from Otago’s Cray 8 ‘Concession’ area, which allows for fish smaller than the 60mm female and 54mm male minimum size to be taken. There are three concession areas in New Zealand, and only Otago-sourced rock lobster can be sold domestically.

While the ‘taking’ of the crayfish by commercial fishers had not breached any regulations, the packaging – or, rather, the lack of it – by the retailer had.

Regulations regarding the selling of ‘concession’ crays domestically are quite strict. The crayfish must be sold as either whole or tailed fish and must be in sealed packs that do not exceed one kilogram in weight. The packs must be unbroken, clearly marked as concession crayfish, and have come from a licensed fish receiver.

The crayfish George saw in the Palmerston North outlet were advertised as ‘raw, thawed NZ crayfish’ and when he measured and weighed the tails they measured 50mm and weighed 300g. They were selling for $18.95 each.

George spoke with the Ministry of Fisheries’ Napier office, threatening to go public with his find unless a satisfactory answer was produced.
It turns out the retailer had purchased ‘concession’ crayfish, originating from Otago’s Cray 4 management area, and had contravened the rules by not selling them in sealed packs. The crayfish were withdrawn from sale immediately.

Progressive Enterprises, owner of the Woolworths outlets, has received a warning as to its obligations regarding the sale of ‘concession’ rock lobster, but has not been prosecuted, an issue that irks recreational fishing representatives.

Asked to follow this up by the North Island South East Regional Forum, Mr Zander sought an explanation from Darren Edwards, the ministry’s district compliance manager based in Whangarei. Mr Zander pointed out he believed an offence had occurred and could provide the evidence.

“When recreational fishers commit an offence, they get fined or prosecuted, so why should Progressive Enterprises be any different?” he asked.
Mr Edwards replied, pointing out there were two major considerations when deciding to prosecute any case: evidential sufficiency and public interest.

Having given consideration to the sufficiency of the evidence, Mr Edward stated there had been a breach of the regulations.
“When considering public interest … serious thought was given to the seriousness of the offence and the need for deterrence and the availability of any proper alternatives to prosecution.

“In this instance the decision was made not to prosecute but ensure fail-safe systems that could be monitored were established to prevent this reoccurring. The maximum fine for breaches of this regulation is $20,000”.

Mr Zander, a member of the NZ Recreational Fishing Council and a NZ Big Game Fishing Council representative, asks what message this sends to the recreational fisher. Is it okay to offend ‘just a little bit’, or ‘rarely’?

It appears the Palmerston North incident was not isolated, with a similar one occurring in Whangarei, hence Mr Edwards’ involvement.

Just before going to press Mr Zander reported similar situations occurring in several supermarkets, where the packaging did not conform to the rules, although the contents were marked as having come from the concession area.

- © Fairfax NZ News