New Zealand’s oldest marine reserve has been plagued with reports of illegal fishing.
Goat Island — about 85km north of Auckland — is surrounded by 518 hectares of protected waters.
Just before New Year, a group of swimmers confronted people fishing inside the exclusion area.
Following this incident, a local tourist company has revealed it had also notified the Department of Conservation about four other instances this summer.
Robyn Adair, a skipper at Goat Island Dive & Snorkel, told 1News she hoped her complaints to DOC would end up with someone being held to account.
“[If] that happens to at least one person, then words going to get out there that hey, this is actually serious.”
Adair has been chasing fishers out of the protected area, and even filmed coordinates from her GPS, so DOC could see people were fishing within the protected area.
SailGP Black Foils driver Peter Burling was cheering her on — as a person who also supported conservation of the ocean.
“To see people in there, in that environment, taking advantage of the situation is super disappointing … and nice work to whoever got the footage of them … it shouldn’t be happening.”
Adair said passengers on her tourist boat also supported her efforts — once chanting at fishers to put their catch back. “I think they got the hint pretty quickly,” she added.
When 1News first reported on the incidents at Goat Island earlier this month, DOC said its greatest resource in managing the reserve was the public, who were its eyes and ears.
It urged people to report illegal fishing, pointing out anyone convicted could face a fine of up to $10,000 or go to jail for three months.
Asked by 1News whether she was going to continue her efforts, Adair said: “Of course, I will always do it because if I’m not going to do it then who else is going to?”
The scope of the problem
DOC said it has issued 395 infringements for illegal fishing inside protected marine reserves since 2020 — leading to a total of 14 prosecutions.
Since 2000, 12 people have been sent to jail on related charges — although DOC noted all were in addition to other offences outside of those connected with marine reserves or conservation.
It added it was “not unusual” for an increase in reports during summer, and it increased staff accordingly. Officers were currently investigating the incidents reported by Adair.
“Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve (Goat Island) is one of DOC’s most popular visitor sites, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors per year.
“It is a national treasure that will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The vast majority of visitors connect with the reserve and its marine life with a huge amount of care and respect.
“We are currently investigating these incidents. If you have new evidence about these or other incidents please contact 0800 DOC HOT, info@doc.govt.nz or via DOC’s social media channels.”
