Already facing criticism for failures to prosecute illegal dumping of quota fish, Primary Industries wound up legal action against South Korean Sajo Oyang Corporation for fishing offences in 2014 with a behind closed doors settlement and disclosure in court of the fact of a settlement, but not its terms.
Primary Industries attempts to control management of fisheries with a quota management system. This converts a public resource (fish stocks) into a private right (permission to take a specified type and quantity of fish). Enforcement is a nightmare. With up to one hundred vessels fishing each year within New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone, monitoring of catch is problematic. A 2016 University of Auckland Business School report identified levels of catch were being misreported; unwanted species were illegally dumped at sea so captains could load and report only higher grade higher value species. There had been fewer than ten prosecutions. A subsequent report by lawyer Michael Heron QC was critical of Primary Industries failure to come to grips with the problem of illegal dumping.
Against this background, Korean vessels Oyang 75 and Oyang 77 had been seized in 2014 for illegal dumping. Ships’ officers were convicted and fined in total some $650,000. Evidence was given that 405 tonnes of quota fish were dumped off Oyang 75, a lesser amount off Oyang 77.
The question of penalties to be imposed on shipowners Sajo Oyang Corporation dragged on, punctuated by a series of appeals through to the Supreme Court and disputes over crew entitlements to payment. In the interim, the two vessels were released after a cash bond was lodged with Primary Industries. The High Court was told settlement of all claims had been agreed. Terms were confidential. The monetary penalty suffered by Sajo Oyang was not disclosed.
Sajo Oyang Corporation v. Primary Industries – High Court (22.11.18)
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