A group of Southland men — including three commercial fishers — have been fined a combined $36,900 in the Invercargill District Court following an investigation into black-market seafood sales by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
Michael Noel Hawke (61), Stuart Teiwi Ryan (48), and Peter George Fletcher (32), all commercial fishers, were sentenced alongside Duncan William Davis (39), a civilian, for multiple breaches of the Fisheries Act. The charges relate to the illegal sale of highly valued kaimoana including kina roe, pāua, blue cod, crayfish, and Bluff dredge oysters.
Systemic black-market trading uncovered
The prosecutions stem from a wider 2023 MPI investigation into the unlawful trade of seafood across Southland. MPI fishery officers used a combination of landing records and intercepted electronic communications to trace and verify transactions between the fishers, suppliers, and buyers.
“Our investigation found Mr Hawke sold about 1,000 dredge oysters during the 2023 season that were not part of his allowable commercial take. They were his allowable recreational take and should have been reported,”
— Greg Forbes, District Manager, Fisheries New Zealand
Based on 2023 retail values of $37 per dozen, the oysters sold by Hawke were worth over $3,000. Bluff’s wild oyster beds are internationally unique, and MPI says any illegal harvesting from this fishery has serious consequences for sustainability.
Peter Fletcher, the third licensed fisher, was found to have sold around 200 dredge oysters illegally on six separate occasions. He was fined $3,900.
Commercial and recreational catch abused
Deckhand Stuart Ryan was found to have offloaded 114 crayfish and approximately 40 blue cod for personal profit — all taken under his recreational limit. MPI calculated his illegal haul to be worth around $2,250, based on market values of $140/kg for crayfish and $75/kg for blue cod. Ryan received the largest fine of the group: $13,000.
“Most commercial fishers follow the rules because they want their fishery to remain sustainable into the future – black-market sales of recreational catch is a slap in the face to the majority of commercial fishers who do the right thing,”
— Greg Forbes, Fisheries New Zealand
In an added twist, Duncan Davis — who is not a commercial fisher — was caught selling up to 400 punnets of kina roe, as well as pāua and blue cod, through informal and illegal channels. Some of the seafood was caught himself, while other portions were reportedly supplied by Ryan.
MPI estimates the value of Davis’s sales to be around $7,000 in total. He was fined $14,000.
No permits, no excuses
None of the four men held permits to sell seafood, nor were they licensed fish receivers or authorised aquaculture operators. MPI emphasised that the illegal sales were deliberate and profit-driven.
“When we find evidence of deliberate illegal sales of seafood — we will take action,” said Mr Forbes. “Poachers steal from everyone because the shared resources belong to all New Zealanders.”
MPI said the defendants’ actions undermined not only the Quota Management System — the framework governing sustainable fisheries in New Zealand — but also risked damaging New Zealand’s hard-earned international reputation for environmentally responsible seafood practices.
Protecting New Zealand’s kaimoana
The Ministry continues to call on the public to help protect New Zealand’s marine resources by reporting suspected illegal fishing or seafood sales.
Anyone who suspects illegal activity is encouraged to contact MPI through the dedicated poaching hotline: 0800 4 POACHER (0800 476 224).
