Fish ministry Finds Trawler Responsible for Floating Fish

Ministry of Fisheries (MFish) officers investigating the large number of fish found floating off the Raglan coast last week say they are making good progress into determining what caused the incident.

The officer in charge of the investigation, Fishery Officer Patrick Lynch from the Ministry's Hamilton office, says they have identified the trawler from which the fish came and interviewed the skipper and two crewmembers.

"The vessel, a small inshore trawler operated by an independent fisher, was visited by MFish staff in Nelson and its skipper has admitted that his was the boat responsible for the floating fish," he says.

"The skipper has told us that the fish were in the water as a result of a tear in the trawler's net and that this tear was repaired as soon as it was noticed. We are now investigating this claim."

The investigation includes inspecting the trawler's catch from their week-long trip, having their fishing gear examined by a local expert and seizing and inspecting catch records for this time.

Fishery Officer Lynch says he and his team are very happy with the level of co-operation they received from west coast fishers following discovery of the floating fish and are still keen to talk to anyone else who may have further information about the incident.

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>