Amaltal denies charges of fishing in unauthorised area

Fishing company Amaltal has denied 14 charges relating to trawling in an unauthorised area of the Tasman Sea.

The Nelson-based company Amaltal – the deepwater division of Talley’s Group – is being prosecuted by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) relating to the incident involving its vessel Apollo in May 2018.

The master of the Apollo also faces 14 charges under the Fisheries Act.

Not guilty pleas were entered to all charges in front of a registrar in the Nelson District Court on Wednesday.

The charges, under the Fisheries Act, relate to failing to comply with the conditions of a high seas fishing permit.

The alleged offending occurred between May 12 and 21 last year near the Lord Howe Rise off the east coast of Australia in the Tasman Sea.

Each charge carries a maximum fine of $100,000 for a company and a $100,000 fine and/or a community-based sentence for an individual

The incident was reported to South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation, which placed the Amaltal Apollo on its draft illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) list of fishing vessels.

An MPI spokeswoman said it was the first case of its kind involving a New Zealand vessel being considered for an international list of IUU vessels.

But the company has defended its position in a statement, saying the error was a technical one that was made based on out-of-date information given by the MPI observer on board the vessel.

The fishing ground involved had been ‘‘historically and lawfully fished by the vessel,’’ the statement said.

The case will have its next hearing in the Nelson District Court on June 12.