When is an offence not an Offence

MPI has had a problematic pattern of not prosecuting even when vessels have been caught red-handed undertaking fisheries offences. Operation Achilles, carried out in 2012, revealed five out of six inshore vessels participating in a pilot camera programme were fish dumping and despite incontrovertible evidence none were prosecuted. Operation Bronto, carried out in 2011, found that around 3,500 tonnes of hoki was being underreported annually. Again no companies or vessels were prosecuted and the findings of the operation were not publicly released until 2018.

The prosecution problem is also clearly demonstrated by the four bribery attempts which MPI has on record (2005, 2008, 2014, 2017). All of these reports were recorded in deepwater fisheries. Not only were there no prosecutions, MPI cannot produce evidence of any criminal investigations, nor evidence that the Ministers of Fisheries of the time were ever notified (as might be expected for hard to prosecute integrity issues).

Given the apparent reluctance of the MPI compliance unit to pursue prosecutions when there is any ambiguity, it would be beneficial for fisheries law reforms to clearly define and delineate offences whenever possible. Improved clarity should assist the compliance unit in identifying when offences have occurred and support stronger enforcement especially when solo observers are involved.