A West Coast commercial fisherman has admitted causing the deaths of 39 albatross in a case which could set an example for the rest of the industry.
Daniel Joseph Smyth, 37, now faces a possible $100,000 fine and forfeiture of the boat he was skippering after failing to use a tori line, a brightly coloured device which scares birds away from fishing hooks.
He entered a guilty plea to a charge of being the master of a vessel that failed to comply with seabird mitigation measures at the Greymouth District Court on Tuesday morning.
The charge was brought by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) after it put observers on board with Smyth on two occasions.
MPI refused to comment on Tuesday but in July described the prosecution as a "clear message".
The acting director of fisheries management, Steve Halley, took a strong stance at the time, saying "non-compliance is not acceptable".
"If there is sufficient evidence, prosecution action will be taken," he said in a statement.
"MPI is now moving to put in place further mitigation techniques including mandatory use of line-weighting for all vessels using surface longlines."
Without the tori line device, albatross are lured to the bait attached to hooks on longlines that can stretch as far as 100km long. Once the birds are caught, they can't get off.
Smyth will be sentenced on 14 November at the Nelson District Court.
Newshub.
