FISH BUST TO BE INVESTIGATED

I thought I should let you know that the big school gala fish sales bust in New Zealand will be investigated.

Minister of Fisheries, Jim Anderton has released a statement which says, "The way the law is currently written, the fisheries officers had little choice but to investigate the stall at the Waiharara School Calf Day last weekend, and to question the person running it. I have asked my Ministry officials to look into the issue of selling or raffling fish for charity, to see what options are available to deal with a situation like this.”

All of this follows accusations that the Ministry of Fisheries acted in a heavy handed manner after seizing fish being used for fund-raising at a Far North school's calf club day and taking a parent to a police station for questioning.

Waiharara school principal Kathy Cotching has labeled the actions of two MAF officers "bureaucratic thuggery" for the raid on the school last week.

The officers confiscated four chilly bins of smoked mullet but overlooked tuatua fritters on sale.

A parent of two of the school's 31 children, Peter Yerkovich who caught the fish and was manning the food stall when officers arrived, was taken to Kaitaia police station for questioning.

Yerkovich denied he had acted illegally as he had been issued with a customary permit to catch the 80 mullet. "I haven't been charged with anything yet, they [the officers] said that decision was up to higher authority." Yerkovich said, "Those two [officers] came a long way to catch me selling five packs of smoked mullet. The koha was $6 for a pack of two and the money was going to the school.”

The school banked about $2600 from the event.

I’ll try to keep you updated on this important story. Sources: New Zealand Progressive Party, Scoop (NZ), New Zealand Herald