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August 11, 2016

Trout poaching – update…

1470795244352

Men jailed for ‘disturbing’ spawning trout poaching

Three men have been charged with poaching 17 spawning trout from a highly valuable spawning stream in Rotorua.

The trio are due to appear in Rotorua District Court on August 25 charged with unlawful possession of sports fish.

On May 15 this year a car was spotted parked by the roadside near the stream at Lake Rotoiti.

Fish and Game, and police officers, went to investigate and found the group, including youths under 17, on private property near the closed spawning stream.

In their possession was 17 “freshly killed trout in spawning condition”, Fish and Game allege.

A poaching discovery so soon after two men were jailed for one of the worst incidents of poaching Fish and Game had ever seen was “disturbing”, officer Anthony van Dorp said.

“Trout poaching such as this has the potential to severely impact on the trout fisheries Fish & Game manages.”

Wild born rainbow trout often taken make up an important part of Lake Rotoiti’s fishery, supplementing hatchery raised fish and providing genetic diversity, he said.

“As the most popular trout fishing lake in the Rotorua district, the success of the Lake Rotoiti fishery contributes significantly to tourism and the regional economy.”

“The low survival rate of a female trout’s eggs drops further if spawning grounds are disturbed, and poachers walking through spawning streams is enough to damage or kill trout eggs and young trout fry which are at early stages in their lives and very vulnerable.”

In May this year David Pake Leef, 37, was sentenced to a total of four months’ jail for trout poaching and breach of bail charges in the Rotorua District Court.

Leef and co-accused Thomas Tawha, 43, were convicted in November 2014 of poaching as many as 60 spawning trout from the spawning stream near Lake Rotoiti.

Tawha, of Kawerau, was jailed for six months in April 2015.

Tawha and Leef had both refused legal counsel and claimed that, as tangata whenua, the court had no jurisdiction over them.

At the time, Judge Weir rejected their claims, saying they do not apply to trout as an introduced species.

Both men were found guilty of eight charges under the Conservation Act 1997.

The maximum penalty for trout poaching is two years imprisonment and/or a $100,000 fine.

Rotoiti River map

Some ‘interesting’ readers comments from Facebook:

Comments

Paul Dell

Paul Dell The last one got 4 months. FGS the legislation allows for 100K or a year… Wet bus ticket! certainly won’t dissuade…

Paul Dell

Paul Dell I did love the judges comment tho on the accused claiming they were tangata whenua so the law had no jurisdiction and the judge said you can’t claim this as its an introduced species LMAO…

Ken White

Ken White Behavior that is often driven by poverty and feelings of inequity. 😟😟

 
John Olds
John Olds No excuse Ken. The law is the law.

Scott Murray try getting a job,they’re obviously fit enough,no excuses period!!!!

Scott Murray
Scott Murray need to be fined heavily etc,so to set an example!!
Clark Reid

Clark Reid That’s rubbish Ken White. I know many of people who indulge in this behavior and they are extremely “cash rich” due to other activities they indulge in which has little respect for law. Subsistence fishing happens in the Islands. Not in NZ.

Ken White

Ken White It’s difficult for an academic to debate with a non academic. One uses peer reviewed research.. the other uses personal experiences and emotion.

Clark Reid
Clark Reid Ken White Show me your “peer reviewed” research indicating trout poaching has any link to poverty… Right so as we know that doesn’t exist….. that brings us back to experience…. as someone who has founded Three angling clubs (Including the largest fly-fishing club in NZ) sat for two terms as Secretary of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater Anglers sat on the transitional council of the Wellington Fish and Game Council (appointed by the Minister of Conservation) and elected as a Councillor to the Eastern Fish and Game Council (The body responsible for the area where this poaching occurred) I guess we have leveled the field just a tad. Your response is arrogant, an Academic you may be, but the measure of superiority you attribute to that could you get you sat on your arse in many fishing camps I have frequented. I do know of instances of people who have gone and caught a fish or two when times were tough (without a license) but taking 17 fish has everything to do with greed, cash generation, criminal activity and a complete disregard for the money others spend on licenses used to maintain a fishery for all. It is hard to win an argument with an intelligent person, it is almost impossible to do so with a pompous ass who believes their opinion holds more weight because they stayed in school longer than people who work for a living.
Scott Murray

Scott Murray Clark Reid absolutely right Clark,all the more reason to punish heavily!!

Peter Morse

Peter Morse Clark Reid you should have been a lawyer. Ken White last seen wandering in a daze and bleeding heavily from the arse area.

Clark Reid

Clark Reid I read this to my darling wife Tania Reid her response “Seems he didn’t do his research before taking you on.

Peter Morse
Peter Morse Maybe he should have asked for a peer review. And how dare you debate an academic, you, you, you, fisherman!!!
Mark Tomsett

Mark Tomsett now that would be interesting !!

Brooklyn Rundstrom
Brooklyn Rundstrom Have you noticed that there all the same sort of people who do it…. but hate the fact that we fish there waters…. but they think it’s alright to take 17 helpless fish….. pathetic

Brooklyn Rundstrom Wankers !!!😠😠

Dion James
Dion James My email to F&G may have worked.Ive witnessed it first hand around Rotoiti spawning creeks,Usually happens early hours in the morning i approached one guy who was using his 3 pronged spear his exuse was “im no good with the flyrod just getting a feed” what utter bullsh#t,I myself am self taught and we all started green! he had a nice looking volkswagon car which indicated to me that he possibly wasnt strapped for cash,ive also seen two asian men fondling around one of a spawning creek.Seen a teenage boy with a boat net scooping them up,My friend witnessed 3 blokes @ 3am hammering the pipe creek on rotoiti,these incidents were all this winter.id hate to think how many other incidents occured the other 5 days of the week i wasnt around.

 

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