On April 19 last year, FV Northern Odyssey set out on a fishing trip in breach of the Fisheries Act.
Because of previous indiscretions, Wayne David MacFarlane (44) was ordered to carry a Ministry of Primary Industries observer on the vessel for three months.
They stopped in Dunedin to unload their catch on April 15 after a mechanical issue with a refrigerator.
The observer was told it would not be fixed for a week and when she checked four days later, the skipper confirmed they would not be sailing that day.
That afternoon FV Northern Odyssey left port.
At sentencing last week in the Dunedin District Court, counsel Peter Dawson said the offence was "unwise" but not premeditated.
MacFarlane was contacted by MPI on April 21 and told he was breaching his observer notice and must return immediately. He said they would only come back at the end of the fishing trip five days later. The vessel continued to report its daily catch as required and did not turn off its tracking software.
As soon as the vessel returned, the catch from the trip was seized with the proceeds amounting to $64,264 and FV Northern Odyssey was also forfeited due to his previous offences.
MacFarlane was fined $15,000 a month before the incident on two other charges. Between June 3 and 10, 2020, he did not deploy tori lines (seabird deterrents) while fishing as required, though he declared he did.
MacFarlane’s firm Tuna Fishing Company Limited had also been fined $6500 for operating FV Northern Odyssey before a certificate of survey was issued in 2021.
"It’s disappointing to have to bring the same person before the courts for fisheries offending," MPI regional manager fisheries compliance Garreth Jay said.
"Mr MacFarlane was required to carry an observer to monitor his fishing and adherence to the rules as he was operating in an area considered a high risk to seabirds. Seabirds are a previous taonga ... "
Judge Jim Large said the non-compliance was "serious" and he believed there was premeditation in MacFarlane’s actions.
He commended the defendant for indicating he wanted to repair his relationships with MPI and the observer programme.
MacFarlane was fined $7800 and the FV Northern Odyssey was to be forfeited.
Noncompliance
June 2020: lied about deploying tori lines (seabird deterrents) on five occasions.
January 2021: FV Northern Odyssey sailed without a certificate of survey.
April 2022: FV Northern Odyssey sailed without an observer
