FISHERY OFFICERS

The Compliance group of the Ministry of Fisheries (MFish) has the role of ensuring that fishers, both commercial and non-commercial, comply with laws supporting the fisheries management framework and quota system. This is achieved by influencing the fishers’ behaviour, using a wide spectrum of activity, which includes education and liaison and detection and prosecution of offences.

Compliance teams are located throughout NZ. Some of the compliance roles are listed below.

• Fisheries Surveillance Officer (FSO) this is the frontline officer position, which can carry out a wide range of field duties from routine inspections to operations involving targeted surveillance, monitoring and investigations. Fishery Surveillance Officer’s also educate and advise fishers across the non-commercial, customary and commercial fishing sectors.
• Investigators concentrate on more complex and serious crime surrounding commercial activity, such as serious quota management system fraud, illegal organised poaching and black-market networks.
• Investigating Accountants provide forensic accounting services, and support the Compliance teams by testing the document trails within the Quota Management System.
• Analysts and Intelligence Officers provide for the effective targeting of compliance resources by identifying and monitoring risk areas.

FSO’s and Fisheries Investigators have to complete a training course where they are issued with warrants of authority as Fishery Officers. This allows them to exercise the wide powers of Fishery Officers in the Fisheries Act 1996, including significant search and seizure powers.