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mpi – fisheries news TOOTH AND CLAW The claw of a lion and one of its teeth was retained by officers of the Ministry for Primary Industries at Auckland Airport in April. The items were carried by a New Zealander returning from Kenya. "From a biosecurity perspective, the items could have been carrying rabies or dangerous parasites," said Steve Gay, MPI operational support coordinator The New Zealander had purchased the tooth and claw from a local market in Maasai Mari, but lion protection laws make the items illegal under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. The passenger was not fined because the items Lion tooth and claw pose were declared, however the biosecurity risk tooth and claw will not be returned to the passenger due to CITES regulations. The MPI will retain the tooth and claw for staff training once the items have been treated with formalin. CONVICTION FOR MISREPORTING A Tauranga based commercial fisherman and skipper has been convicted for misreporting over 15 tonnes of fish and sentenced to seven months home detention and 200 hours of community service. Gary Robert Mitchell appeared in the Tauranga District Court and was found guilty of five charges under section 231 of the Fisheries Act for knowingly making a false statement in a fishing return for the purpose of obtaining a benefit under the Act. The offending relates to five fishing trips undertaken by Mitchell in the Bay of Plenty between August 20 and September 30, 2012, where he carried out what is known in the fishing industry as "trucking." Trucking is the catching of fish in one Quota Management Area and falsely reporting it as having been caught in another QMA for financial benefit. In just over five weeks of commercial long lining Mitchell misreported over 15 tonnes of ling. Ministry for Primary Industries District compliance manager for Waikato–Bay of Plenty, Brendon Mikkelsen says, "MPI is happy with the court's decision as it sends the message that offending of this nature will not be tolerated." "A total disregard for the Quota Management System as revealed by this investigation places fish stocks at risk of overfishing. Accurate information provided by commercial fisherman on their returns is essential for managing commercial fisheries and making sure they are sustainable." ELECTRONIC MONITORING TRIALLED The Ministry for Primary Industries and the Department of Conservation, in partnership with the fishing industry, have recently trialled an electronic monitoring programme in the Timaru set net fishery. The trial used electronic monitoring technology to automatically record information such as vessel location and interactions between set net fishing vessels and protected species, including Hector's dolphins. Electronic monitoring involves using on 68 Professional Skipper July/August 2013 board sensors, cameras and GPS receivers. Two incidental captures of Hector's dolphins were recorded as part of the programme, one live release and one death. These have been included in DOC's Hector's dolphin incident database, which is available online. DOC and MPI are aware that fisheries need to be able to demonstrate their sustainable use of marine resources, including providing information that allows impacts on protected species to be assessed and managed. Steve Halley, MPI's Acting Inshore Fisheries Manager, says the results of the programme will be combined with the results of other research currently underway to inform future management decisions on impacts on Hector's dolphins. This includes a new abundance survey, the first since 1998. "The fishing industry and Government agree it's essential they continue to work alongside each other to find cost-effective monitoring alternatives that will provide robust and reliable information." said DOC Marine Species and Threats manager, Ian Angus. Alongside MPI observers, who monitored 75 fishing events, there was electronic monitoring of 170 fishing trips by equipment on board 80 percent of the set net fishing vessels which operated out of Timaru during the 2012-13 season. The seafood industry, together with the Ministry for Primary Industries have invested approximately $300,000 into the programme, including both observers and electronic technology. Further observations, both by observers and electronic monitoring, are expected later this year. MPI RECEIVES THOUSANDS OF SUBMISSIONS The Ministry for Primary Industries received 2740 submissions on a proposal to open up closed sections of the Southland and Otago coastline to the commercial paua industry. The Government has been reviewing the areas open to commercial paua harvesting in Southland and Otago, including Otago Peninsula, the Clutha River mouth and Bluff Hill. Submissions came from individuals and organisations representing iwi, recreational fishermen, quota holders and local agencies. From the submissions, 2,718 people supported the option of no change to the current closures and 22 supported opening selected areas to allow commercial harvest. The ministry was to have analysed the submissions during May and will provide advice to the primary industries minister. DECLARED CRABS AVOID FINE Ministry for Primary Industries staff at Auckland airport avoided both a nasty nipping and a potential biosecurity breach when they seized live crabs from a Vietnamese passenger arriving from Sydney. The five crabs were found in the passenger's luggage after he declared the goods to biosecurity staff. "They were quite large and gave us a bit of a fright. One actually crushed a pen when we were taking photos," says team leader Nick Willis. "We get a lot of fish and crustaceans coming through, but live crabs are very unusual." The unidentified crabs were a potential biosecurity threat to New Zealand. "The crabs themselves could have caused damage to our marine species and our natural environment, or they could have been carrying unwanted organisms," Willis said. The Chinese mitten crab is an example of a pest crab that has caused problems in other countries. The crab has invaded Europe and North America from its native region of Asia. Able to wipe out local invertebrates, its intensive burrowing activity causes erosion; costing fisheries and aquaculture hundreds of www.skipper.co.nz