{"id":587145,"date":"2026-09-01T18:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T18:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/587145\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T18:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T18:30:11","slug":"whananaki-illegal-fishing-sting-finds-100-non-compliance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/587145\/","title":{"rendered":"Whananaki illegal fishing sting finds 100% non-compliance"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a statement today, MPI Fisheries Northland detailed the offending uncovered by officers. <\/p>\n

On August 20, officers saw two people leave the area in a hurry after apparently abandoning a catch bag containing eight undersized packhorse rock lobster, all of which had been taken using purpose-made illegal crayfish hooks. <\/p>\n

Several of the lobsters were also in soft-shell condition, making them particularly vulnerable, MPI said. <\/p>\n

The catch also included four red rock lobsters, one undersized and another an egg-bearing female. <\/p>\n

In addition, officers found four undersized p\u0101ua<\/a>, indicating the area targeted by the illegal fishers was likely functioning as a nursery habitat for juvenile marine species.<\/p>\n

Five days later, officers inspected catches brought to shore by two men seen diving and found them in possession of eight undersized packhorse rock lobsters, including several in soft-shell condition. MPI said each man will receive infringement notices of up to $750.<\/p>\n

On their third visit to Whananaki, officers found three divers who had hidden their catch bag nearby. <\/p>\n

The bag contained 26 undersized packhorse rock lobsters and a female red rock lobster carrying external eggs. <\/p>\n

Many of the packhorse lobsters had been speared and some were in the soft-shell stage, MPI said.<\/p>\n

Officers spoke with the men, seizing full sets of dive gear from two of them and warning they would likely face prosecution. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis incident is of particular concern given the number and state of the rock lobster,\u201d MPI said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese incidents highlight the ongoing pressure being placed on local fisheries resources. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf current levels of non-compliance continue, the long-term sustainability of these valuable resources will be at risk. <\/p>\n

\u201cProtecting them requires a collective effort to ensure future generations can continue to enjoy and benefit from healthy marine ecosystems.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"ItIt is illegal to use spears or other puncturing devices on rock lobsters, and the possession of lobsters caught by those means is an offence. Photo \/ MPI \"IllegallyIllegally taken crayfish and the prohibited devices used to catch many of them. Photo \/ MPI<\/p>\n

MPI said local communities played a vital role in protecting fisheries<\/a> and called on anyone who witnesses suspicious or illegal fishing activity to report it by calling 0800 4 POACHER (0800 476 224). <\/p>\n

\u201cAny information, including vehicle registration details, can be extremely helpful to investigations,\u201d MPI said.<\/p>\n

Gathering red spiny rock lobster (red crayfish) is banned at Whananaki and along the entire east coast of Northland under a strict \u201cno-take\u201d rule that started on April 1 this year and applies to recreational and commercial fishers.<\/p>\n

The ban is expected to last for at least five years to help local numbers recover.<\/p>\n

The west coast remains open, though with updated daily bag limits designed to ensure sustainability:<\/p>\n

Spiny rock lobster (CRA 1): limit of two per person in open areas.Packhorse rock lobster (PHC 1): limit of three per person nationwide.<\/p>\n

Offenders face fines of up to $100,000 and the potential seizure of vessels and gear. MPI urges fishers to \u201cknow before you go\u201d and to download its NZ Fishing Rules app. <\/p>\n

Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a range of issues. She has nearly 20 years\u2019 experience in journalism, much of which she spent court reporting in Gisborne.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a statement today, MPI Fisheries Northland detailed the offending uncovered by officers. On August 20, officers saw…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":587146,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3548,3471,11424,54249,3087,16484,108151,111,43,139,83833,1067,69,23421,19257,8244,12860,57437,7563,105807],"class_list":["post-587145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-3548","tag-among","tag-finds","tag-fisheries","tag-fishing","tag-illegal","tag-inspected","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-noncompliance","tag-northland","tag-nz","tag-officers","tag-rate","tag-recent","tag-revealed","tag-sting","tag-those","tag-whananaki"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}