Woman, 52, who ran illegal flounder operation fined, has boat seized

Woman, 52, who ran illegal flounder operation fined, has boat seized

By Ethan Griffiths

Source: nzherald

3/6/2022

An amateur Bay of Plenty fisher who caught and sold over 200 flounder for a profit has been fined and had her boat seized after fisheries officers pursued a prosecution.

Patricia Jean Townsend, 52, appeared before Tauranga District Court judge Thomas Ingram on Monday, after pleading guilty to a single Fisheries Act offence.

The offending occurred over an eleven-month period between January 2020 and February 2021. According to the summary of facts, Townsend would travel to the coastal settlement of Maketu and search for flounder in the shallow waters of Maketu Harbour.

Townsend would then onsell the flounder, typically for about $5 per fish. She had developed such a customer base, she would send text messages to prospective buyers informing them when she had a stock of the fish.

The Ministry for Primary Industries received a tip-off surrounding the illegal dealing and sent two Fisheries officers to investigate.

That investigation found Townsend had been selling the flounder for a period of 11 months and was caught using an aluminium dinghy and set net.

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