‘On-the-spot’ penalties for fishing boats?

Press, 2 August 1977, Page 10

‘On-the-spot’ penalties for fishing boats?

NZPA staff correspondent, Washington New Zealand may examine the American system of imposing “traf-fic-ticket” tvpe penalties on foreign fishermen for minor violations of fishing zone regulations, when t draws up rules for its out 200-mile economic zone, according to the Minister of Fisheries (Mr J. B. Bolger) who is on a world fact-finding trip to discuss 200-mile zones'. “I think this is something we will take a look at. and it may be possible for us to adopt something similar,” Mr Bolger said. Until the American zone went into effect, on March 1. patrol boats had to haul offending foreign fishing boats into port. Now, under a more flexible system, the United States Coast Guard can issue a violation notice on the spot for minor offences.

and the fishing boat does not need to be brought into port. The new practice allows a foreign boat to go on fishing once it has stopped its illegal activities. and permits the patrol boats to stay at sea. "It seems a sensible wav to deal with minor offences,” Mr Bolger said. “In serious cases, the boat is still brought into port. Mr Bolger said that his talks in Washington with fisheries and other United States Government officials had shown that the American introduction and working of its 200-mile zone were similar to how New Zealand planned to go about implementing its zone. He said that the Americans had told him that foreign nations fishing ir. their zone had adopted conservative catch targets, designed for continuing optimum yields.

He also said that the Americans did not attach as much weight to the problem of marketing ocean catches as New Zealand did. “They feel there w 1 continue to be an unsatisfied demand for fish,” Mr Bolger said.