Hooked but not landed
Many bach and boat owners in the Marlborough Sounds had been waiting for the outcome of the prosecution against Matthew Cox to see whether the Ministry for Primary Industries was being just too strong-armed over its rule against carrying filleted blue cod.
The court decision, released by Judge John Strettell on the opening day of the cod season in the Sounds, went against the ministry although it did include a rider that it should not be seen as a precedent.
The case started after Mr Cox and his family had been doing some fishing while staying at their bach in the Sounds for several days. The blue cod they caught each day was within the slot rule, and within the daily catch allowance.
They took the cod back to the bach, and filleted it to stop it going off. They did not cook and eat it all, though, and loaded the left-over fillets into their boat for the trip back to Picton and home to Christchurch.
They were stopped by fisheries officers and admitted having filleted cod on the boat, which is against regulations.
The ministry prosecuted and Mr Cox decided to test the regulations by defending the charge in court. It had nothing to do with the controversial ‘‘slot’’ size rule; it was only about transporting filleted fish through the protected Sounds area.
The regulations were designed to stop day fishermen taking undersized fish, or too many, and covering their tracks by filleting the fish at sea. But it means bach and boat owners such as Mr Cox, who spend more than a day in the Sounds, cannot take a few fillets home when they end their holiday.
A bach owner with vehicle access can drive home with the fillets; anyone with boat-only access runs up against the notransporting rule.
The ministry conceded in court that Mr Cox had not breached any other regulation and, on these grounds, the judge let him off the charge. However, he went on to say that if he had found Mr Cox liable, he would have discharged him without conviction. It is difficult to see how this cannot be taken as a precedent for anyone in this position.
The ministry will need to clarify this regulation very quickly, or they will find themselves prosecuting a string of bach and boat owners who will show themselves to be in exactly the same situation as Mr Cox, and will point to this decision as their defence.