Poacher who made $68,000 selling crayfish illegally wants to ‘apologise to all my people’

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John Nohotima took orders by text message for illegally caught crayfish. He’d sell them for $15 each or $25 for larger ones. (File photo)

Scott Hammond/Stuff

John Nohotima took orders by text message for illegally caught crayfish. He’d sell them for $15 each or $25 for larger ones. (File photo)

A man who poached more than 4,600 crayfish and falsely said they were for customary purposes told investigators he knew it was wrong, and he would like to “apologise to my people”.

John Nohotima, a 61-year-old Wairoa sickness beneficiary, made $68,690 between September 2020 and August 2021 by selling the crayfish, which he gathered under customary permits.

The crayfish had a commercial value of $298,517.

Customary permits are issued by people appointed as Kaitiaki (guardians) and allow for the taking of seafood for cultural occasions such as tangi or hui in greater amounts that what is usually allowed by law.

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During a Ministry for Primary Industries investigation into illegal harvesting of crayfish from the Māhia area it was discovered that falsified customary permits were being used to collect the crayfish before distributing them to Auckland, Kawerau, Tauranga, Gisborne, Wairoa, Māhia, and Napier.

Nohotima harvested the crayfish in the waters surrounding the Māhia Peninsula, using about 16 cray pots. (File photo)

Bill Kearns/Stuff

Nohotima harvested the crayfish in the waters surrounding the Māhia Peninsula, using about 16 cray pots. (File photo)

More than ten other offenders involved in the illegal operation have been caught and sentenced for their roles.

Nohotima was a leader in the operation and was the one who provided fake information to Kaitiaki in order to gain the permits, then collected the seafood and onsold it.

He harvested the crayfish in the waters surrounding the Māhia Peninsula, using about 16 cray pots.

One of Nohotima’s biggest customers was the Paul family from Kawerau. Martin Paul and his whānau travelled to Wairoa to collect crayfish about 46 times between September 2020 and July 2021.

The Pauls would provide Nohotima details of fictitious hui or tangi at marae or other venues in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, which he would use to obtain permits from local Kaitiaki.

KELLY HODEL/STUFF

Ōpito Bay on the Coromandel is a special place, with a noticeable drop in scallop numbers, a voluntary ban on taking scallops is in place to protect the resource for future generations (video first published in 2021).

Nohotima sold the crayfish for $15 each or $25 for larger sized crayfish. They were onsold by the Pauls for $30 each.

He also took orders by text message. Buyers collected the crayfish from his house, or he would deliver them using one of his vehicles.

When Nohotima was caught and questioned in August 2021 he told officers that the money received for crayfish was “koha” which he used to cover his vessel operating and maintenance costs.

He admitted supplying crayfish to the Pauls and said he had an “inkling” they were onselling them for $30 each.

He also admitted used his daughter’s bank account to receive payment for crayfish so that the Ministry for Social Development wouldn’t be able to see large cash deposits into his own account where he received his benefit payments.

He said he knew it was illegal to sell recreational and customary sourced crayfish and that customary permits could only be used for genuine hui and or tangi events.

He finished his interview by saying he would like to “apologise to all my people”.

Nohotima last month pleaded guilty to obtaining a benefit by knowingly selling 4,664 crayfish in contravention of the Fisheries Act 1996.

He will be sentenced this week.

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