A poacher who abused the customary fishing permit system in order to run a large commercial-scale black market crayfish ring, appeared to be in a state of shock as a judge sent him off to jail for more than two years.

John Nohotima, a 61-year-old sickness beneficiary, did not show his face to the public gallery of the Wairoa District Court on Wednesday until Judge Warren Cathcart told him his sentence, at which point he turned to a woman who’d accompanied him to court and gaped, wide-eyed, in apparent incredulity.

Nohotima 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.

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.

John Nohotima took orders by text message for illegally caught crayfish. He’d sell them for $15 each or $25 for larger ones. Photo: Scott Hammond/Stuff.

More than 10 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.

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 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”.

In May Nohotima pleaded guilty to obtaining a benefit by knowingly selling 4664 crayfish in contravention of the Fisheries Act 1996.

Before sentencing Judge Cathcart heard from Crown prosecutor James Bridgman who said Nohotima had run a “commercial operation that sprawled over the North island”.

Nohotima harvested the crayfish in the waters surrounding the Māhia Peninsula, using about 16 cray pots. Photo: Bill Kearns/Stuff.

Bridgman said there were no other fisheries cases involving a similar level of offending and because it was one of the most serious examples of its kind it should attract a penalty close to the maximum.

The maximum sentence was five years in jail or a fine of $250,000. Bridgman sought a starting point of four and a half years.

Nohotima’s lawyer Manaaki Terekia said Nohotima was remorseful and had taken responsibility for his actions.

Terekia noted the contents of a cultural report that pointed to Nohotima’s childhood trauma, cultural marginalisation and chronic illnesses.

Judge Cathcart said the matters raised in the cultural report could not be said to be connected to Nohotima’s poaching and when it came to cultural matters, “this case is about cultural violation”.

The judge said the customary fishing regulations “reflected a hard-won victory for the benefit of all Māori, and it’s important to protect the integrity of the regime”.

He acknowledged Nohotima’s guilty plea, his poor health, his good conduct in the community and his genuine remorse before sentencing him to two years and 10 weeks in jail.

- Marty Sharpe/Stuff.