Karl du Fresne: Leave it to Maori and hope for the best

The recent conviction of a Hawke’s Bay kaitiaki, or “guardian” of customary fisheries, makes a mockery of the word.

Napier District Court heard that authorisations issued by Rangi Spooner under customary fishing regulations covered multiple dates instead of the allowed 48-hour period. A man named Jason Brown obtained 11 such authorisations and was later convicted of illegally selling crayfish for $10 each. A separate hearing was told that Brown caught 1730 crays, supposedly for events at his house. That’s a helluva lot of crayfish.

Mike Butler: Bringing paua to the people

News that prisoners freed on temporary release from the Hawke’s Bay Prison near Hastings have been caught illegally taking seafood from a marine reserve while taking part in a rehabilitation programme is a reminder of sorry relationship between people and paua in the bay.

Spokespeople from the prison and the hapless social service provider were in the hot seat on One News claiming that they went to the Te Angiangi Marine Reserve by mistake. Maybe the inmates and their caregivers were all illiterate because the sign on the beach, clearly visible to all viewers of One News, said that no seafood could be touched.