A Queenstown helicopter company has been fined $12,000 and ordered to forfeit two Airbus AS350 helicopters worth more than $1 million each after pleading guilty to illegally taking and selling recreationally caught crayfish to hotel guests.
The Helicopter Line Limited was sentenced in the Queenstown District Court on four charges under the Fisheries Act, concluding a prosecution that has already seen the Rees Hotel fined $22,000 and contracted diver David Brian Casey fined $3,750.
The company operated the "Rees Ultimate Heli Crayfish Dining Experience", a premium tourism package selling for upwards of $4,650. Guests were flown to remote Fiordland locations to watch crayfish being collected, then served the catch at the hotel.
Fisheries New Zealand regional manager south Garreth Jay said the company had been formally warned in writing that recreationally caught crayfish could not be sold or used commercially without a permit. Despite this, fishery officers later found crayfish labelled "Heli crayfish" at the hotel during a routine inspection.
"Our investigation confirmed that despite being formally advised that recreationally caught crayfish could not be sold or used as part of its commercial activity, the Helicopter Line continued operating the experiences," Jay said.
Casey, 35, took a recreational limit of crayfish per trip and was paid $800 in cash. Jay said any use of seafood as part of a business's commercial activities is considered sale under the Act.
"When we find evidence of illegal fishing that threatens the sustainability of our shared fisheries, and undermines the interests of legitimate operators and fishers, we will hold those people or entities engaging in illegal activity to account," Jay said.
The court has allowed 35 working days for any person claiming an interest in the forfeited helicopters to apply for relief.
