Latest news with #MinistryforPrimaryIndustries
1News
a day ago
- 1News
Porirua poacher jailed after being caught with over 600 pāua
A Porirua man has been sentenced to more than two years in jail after being found guilty of poaching 619 pāua – more than 60 times the daily catch limit. In November 2022, fishery officers searching the home of Ruteru Sufia found 65 pāua in a freezer along with 554 shucked pāua in another freezer. "This was a large amount of pāua, more than 60 times the daily catch limit and more than 30 times the accumulation limit. Also, 45 of the pāua found were undersize," Fisheries New Zealand regional manager, Fisheries Compliance, Phil Tasker, said. The seized pāua found at the Porirua home of Ruteru Sufia. (Source: Supplied) He was slapped with four charges under the Fisheries Act and one charge under the Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations. ADVERTISEMENT While on bail, the 63-year-old was caught with a further 48 pāua – with 29 less than the minimum legal size. Tasker said Sufia had intended to sell the seafood, which is illegal. 'We have zero tolerance for poachers – they affect the sustainability of our shared fisheries, and they affect people who legitimately trade in seafood,' Tasker said. "Mr Sufia claimed the pāua in his freezer was for a wedding in Auckland, an explanation the court didn't believe. Mr Sufia's offending was deliberate. 'He wasn't concerned with legal size and catch limits; he was driven by financial gain from poaching this pāua." Sufia "has a long record of breaking fisheries rules", Tasker said, with the Ministry for Primary Industries dealing with more than 35 offences involving the man over "a number of years". He was sentenced today in the Porirua District Court to two years and six months in prison after being prosecuted by MPI. ADVERTISEMENT Sufia was also banned from all forms of fishing for three years. 'When we find evidence of illegal fishing – you can be assured that we will investigate and depending on the circumstances, place the matter before the court." Anyone who suspected illegal activity could make a report through 0800 4 POACHER (0800 47 62 24).
Otago Daily Times
7 days ago
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Researchers accused of scaremongering over campylobacter hospitalisation, death rates
Too many people are still ending up sick and in hospital from contaminated fresh chicken meat, public health professionals say. New analysis released by the Public Health Communication Centre (PHCC) on Thursday shows hospitalisation rates for campylobacter infection have increased by almost 70% in 17 years. The study found contaminated fresh chicken meat remained the dominant source, causing an estimated 77% of infections. But the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has disputed the figures and is accusing the researchers of scaremongering. The PHCC study noted that, in 2007, regulatory measures were introduced to reduce contamination levels in fresh chicken meat tested in processing plants. Rates of both hospitalisation and notification halved in just a few months as a result. But since 2008, contaminated chicken in New Zealand caused more than 600,000 symptomatic illnesses, over 9000 hospitalisations, at least 60 deaths and around $1.4 billion in economic costs. Lead author, University of Otago professor Michael Baker, said that in 2023, the year with the most recent data, there were nearly a thousand hospitalisations. "By any means this is a very consequential health problem and we feel it needs a much more vigorous response." Government agencies were "too complacent" about the increasing rates of campylobacter infection caused by contaminated chicken, he added. "If you saw a 70% rise in our most common foodborne disease surely you'd be putting a lot of effort into investigating that to figure out what's going on, and I'm not aware of any effort going into that. One of the major problems that we're seeing is our agencies have become very complacent about this infection." The government should consider a formal inquiry into this serious, long-term regulatory failure, Baker said. "The large Havelock North waterborne outbreak of campylobacter infection [in 2016] resulted in an exhaustive inquiry and a complete reorganisation of the drinking water supply sector. That common source outbreak caused about 7570 cases. By comparison, the 'common source' epidemic caused by contaminated chicken meat results in the equivalent of a Havelock North-sized outbreak every three months in NZ, or 80 such outbreaks since 2008." But Food Safety's deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle disagreed with the PHCC's analysis, arguing that between 2006 and 2020 reported rates of foodborne campylobacter infections had halved. These figures were based on public notifications of infections provided by the health system, he said. "In 2020 New Zealand Food Safety set the target of reducing the rate by a further 20%. This milestone was reached at the end of 2024, when rates of foodborne campylobacter infections acquired in New Zealand fell to 70 cases per 100,000. The drop in infection was thanks to a "concerted effort over many years" from government, scientists and industry throughout the supply chain, he said. "New Zealand has made considerable reductions in campylobacter infections. We keep an open mind about changes that can further reduce campylobacteria infection, which is a serious foodborne illness, but will not consider changes that are not founded on good evidence." Arbuckle accepted more people were ending up in hospital with campylobacter but says that was partly because they had put off going to the GP and got sicker, he said. He also agreed that campylobacteriosis was "the most common, significant foodborne illness in New Zealand". But he said data suggested "a continued downward reduction due to the sustained efforts between industry, health authorities, the regulator and other parts of the sector such as retail". "The prevalence [of campylobacteriosis] is reducing, it's not where people would like it to be, but some of the content in this report is simply erroneous and alarmist, particularly the comments about deaths attributed - the simple fact is that ... since 2007 we've had three recorded cases of death where campylobacteriosis was the principle single contributing factor, not 60 as he [Baker] suggests. "If New Zealand was experiencing the level of deaths directly attributable to campylobacteriosis at the numbers that the authors suggest, there would be an outcry." But Baker said that deaths from campylobacter infection were generally poorly diagnosed and recorded. By looking at hospital discharge data, however, the researchers were able to get an indication of deaths in hospital with 60 reported deaths for patients with a discharge diagnosis of campylobacter infection as the principal or additional diagnosis over the 14-year period from 2008 to 2021, an average of 4.3 per year. An additional estimated 12 deaths from Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) from this source took the total to 68 in the 17-year period, or four per year. In a statement, Poultry Industry Association executive director Michael Brooks said he agreed the paper was "unnecessarily alarmist". "The poultry industry works closely with NZ Food Safety and met their set targets to further reduce campylobacter by 20% by 2024," he said. "We have also met the standards of the National Microbial Database. NZ Food Safety assesses that Michael Baker's paper has significant limitations and relies on several incorrect assumptions and unsupported estimates to reach its conclusions." The study's co-author, University of Otago Professor Nick Wilson defended their research on Morning Report, saying hospitalisation data is the most reliable source to understand what's happening with this "epidemic". "They're [MPI] focusing on the wrong data. You need to take a broad comprehensive picture that includes looking at the hospitalisations and deaths. Hospitalisations are far more reliable then the data sources that they're focusing on," he said. "They're just not taking a proper health perspective. You'd expect that a watchdog that's meant to be protecting public health and protecting food safety, it [MPI] just doesn't have a health focus." MPI looks like they are protecting their own reputation, Prof Wilson said. "This is a health problem... You need health experts. It's out of their ballpark."
Otago Daily Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Director questions merits of MPI prosecution
The prosecution of him and his company for operating heli-crayfish excursions for high-paying guests "wasn't a great use of taxpayers' money", a Queenstown hotelier says. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) took Mark Rose and The Rees Management Ltd to court for operating heli-crayfish excursions to Fiordland for high-paying guests, and illegally storing crayfish in a hotel freezer. Rose, who remains a director of the company and was its general manager until the end of March, was discharged without conviction in the Queenstown District Court this week after admitting three charges of failing in his duty as director of a fish dealer. The company was convicted and fined $22,000 on four charges of unlawfully possessing fish for sale and a single charge of a fish dealer failing to keep invoices for fish purchases. MPI launched an investigation into the heli excursions in late 2022, which involved a third-party company flying small groups of the hotel's guests to remote locations in Fiordland or the West Coast to watch a diver gather the crayfish. The crayfish were later flown to the resort and cooked and served to the excursion participants. After Mr Rose was warned by a fisheries officer in late 2021 that the excursions were illegal, he gave assurances he would get the third-party business operating them to ensure they were compliant. MPI's investigation was triggered after the excursions resumed. Mr Rose suspected MPI thought there was a "huge ring" for illegal seafood. When told to stop the trips, he did so immediately, only resuming when he had been assured by the third-party company that changes had been made. MPI also prosecuted him for having three frozen crayfish in the hotel's kitchen. "If we were trying to do something illegal, we wouldn't be freezing crayfish and then selling the bloody things, would we?" He found MPI's prosecution of him as a company director "pretty amazing". "I'm 60-odd years of age, running a successful multimillion-dollar business and employing all the people that we do, we're enmeshed in the community, we support charities and all sorts of stuff like that. "Do you think I suddenly woke up one morning and thought, oh, ... I'm going to go out and break the law?" Mr Rose said he had never been in a court before, and found the process "daunting". "I felt like a criminal, and I really and truly didn't think that I had done anything wrong. "Everybody around me knows I wouldn't do anything wrong, either. "But I put my hand up, and I think that's something more chief executives need to do." The luxury hotel has won various awards, including a gong for leading New Zealand hotel at the 30th Annual World Travel Awards in 2023. Mr Rose was named New Zealand's hotel general manager of the year at the Australasian Hotel Management Awards in 2022. In her sentencing comments, Judge Catriona Doyle said the offending appeared to be a case of negligence rather than "deliberately seeking to develop a profitable experience they knew would be unlawful". The excursions the hotel's guests went on only involved 23 crayfish, and the maximum recreational limit of six crayfish per diver was never exceeded. Mr Rose had "high standing and significant mana in his community", with a strong record of work for charitable organisations, the judge said. She granted him a discharge without conviction on the grounds the consequences of convictions at his stage of life, compared to the seriousness of the offending, would cause undue shame to him and his family. MPI also laid charges against the third-party company that operated the heli excursions. That company is defending the charges.
NZ Herald
16-07-2025
- Science
- NZ Herald
Iwi-led team discover invasive sea spurge at Spirits Bay, threatening native plants
Te Haumihi programme manager Melanie Dalziel says the find included more than 50 plants in a 6sq m area, including one larger plant that was likely the original plant, 18 smaller mature plants that had seeded, and 32 seedlings. A sea spurge; a flowering adult plant and seedlings. While it was very disheartening to find these plants, she acknowledged her team, and the support of Northland Regional Council, in being able to locate and safely remove the plants before more plants could set seed. Dalziel says her team have now prioritised regular surveillance and monitoring of beaches along the eastern ridgeline of the rohe of Ngāti Kuri. Barr says the surveillance work behind the latest find was undertaken as part of a management programme, delivered in partnership with iwi and hapū, the Ministry for Primary Industries, the Department of Conservation and Northland Regional Council. She says there are a number of iwi and hapū groups engaged in the surveillance programme, controlling known sites and surveying the coast. Locals and volunteers have also been involved in surveying and reporting sites. 'Over the past 12 months, 175 kilometres of Northland's coastline has been surveyed, focused primarily on the west coast.' Barr says there are now sea spurge sites recorded in seven different areas in Northland; the Poutō Peninsula, the Waipoua River mouth, Mitimiti, Ahipara, Waipapakauri, Hukatere and now Kapowairua, Spirits Bay. The plants in all of these areas have been controlled and the sites are searched every four months to detect and remove any new seedlings, which can reach maturity and set seed in less than five months if not controlled. Barr says sea spurge is causing major environmental damage at many Australian beaches, displacing native plants and changing natural patterns of sand movements. 'It has the potential to overrun our native dune species and threaten the habitats of native birds.' She says an adult plant can produce between 5000 and 20,000 buoyant and salt-tolerant seeds every year, and these can travel long distances on ocean currents. 'This means there is an ongoing risk of seeds making their way over and establishing along our long stretch of coastline, with the west coast being the most at risk.' She says that makes it vital that any sightings are reported. Sea spurge looks like a small shrub and typically grows up to 50cm in height although it can sometimes reach up to 1m. 'It has tightly packed leaves that are bluish-green in colour, with the stem having often a red tinge at the base. Do not touch it as it has a milky sap which is toxic to people and animals and may cause temporary blindness.' Its flowers are composed of yellowish-green petal-less flowers found in clusters, while its leaves are stalkless, hairless, alternate, crowded and overlapping along the stems. Barr says anyone who thinks they have found sea spurge should report it as soon as possible, using the Ministry for Primary Industries Pests-and-Diseases hotline on 0800 80 99 66. 'Take some clear photos and please do not disturb the plants as the sap is toxic, and you could also spread the seeds via your clothing and equipment. Plants can also regrow from root fragments.' People should note the location as accurately as possible – GPS co-ordinates are ideal, or you can open Google Maps and drop a pin on the map (and/or screen-shot your location on the map). You can also use the iNaturalist app to mark potential sites. Barr says sea spurge looks similar to the rare native spurge, waiūatua/waiū-o-Kahukura (Euphorbia glauca); however, the native spurge has much larger leaves that are 30-80mm long. The New Zealand linen flax (Linum monogynum) and the sand daphne / toroheke (Pimelea villosa) that grow in the coastal environment are also similar.
The Sun
15-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Ahmad Zahid shares knowledge with Maori community, explores livestock in Rotorua
ROTORUA: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi continued his working visit to New Zealand with a focus on cultural exchange and agricultural collaboration in Rotorua. His itinerary included engagements with the Maori community and a review of livestock farming practices to identify potential applications in Malaysia. Ahmad Zahid, who also serves as Minister of Rural and Regional Development, attended a Maori Business Roundtable to discuss social and community development initiatives. The session aimed to strengthen bilateral relations between Malaysia and New Zealand. His delegation later visited Whakarewa Living Maori Village, where they experienced a traditional Geothermal Hangi lunch, showcasing Maori culinary techniques using natural heat sources. Before departing Rotorua, the delegation toured Onuku Farm, a sheep and dairy farm, to study advanced agricultural methods. The visit highlighted New Zealand's best practices in livestock management, which could be adapted to enhance Malaysia's rural economy. The Deputy Prime Minister's next stop is Wellington, where he will meet senior New Zealand officials, including Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour and Foreign Minister Winston Peters. Ahmad Zahid will also lead Malaysia's participation in the Halal Forum, co-organised by the Halal Industry Development Council and New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries, to boost halal trade cooperation. Additionally, he will witness the signing of a higher education agreement to expand opportunities for Malaysian students in New Zealand. His visit concludes with a courtesy call on Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro and a gathering with the Malaysian diaspora in Wellington.
