Fishermen fire rifle, in dispute with trawlers

Press, 4 January 1980, Page 2

Fishermen fire rifle, in dispute with trawlers

PA Auckland Irat6 fishermen fired a rifle at two Northland trawlers which cut their long lines, near Doubtless Bay yesterday. Three = shots were fired at the 15m- Whangaroa-regis-tered trawlers but no-one was injured in the early morning drama. The Mangonui police hired a local fishing boat to track down the fishermen involved after one of the trawler skippers called Auckland Radio. The police said later that four. commercial . fishing boats, between 6m and 9m, had each been trailing four sets of long lines.

The fishermen asserted that the larger boats, which were pair-trawling, had deliberately cut the long lines. They told the police that a .270 rifle had been fired in a fit of anger. The police took the fishermen back to Mangonui in an attempt to ascertain who was responsible for the shooting. The police said the incident was the first hint of trouble among local fishermen. Three men will appear in the Magistrate’s Qourt at Kaitaia on January' 15 on charges under the Arms_• Act arising from yesterday’s incident.