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A man has been handed a three-year ban on collecting seafood, after being caught extending his customary authority to issue permits well beyond its boundaries for the past 10 years.
Jonathan Moon, 47, appeared in the WhangΔrei District Court, as the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) pressed its case to strip him of the right to take seafood in any form.
He had been found guilty in a judge-alone trial in July of obstructing fisheries officers and possession of an underwater breathing apparatus, namely a scuba tank.
Judge Peter Davey fined Moon $1000 but when MPI sought a prohibition order, a formal hearing was set down.
The hearing took place on Wednesday, with the court hearing Moon's history dated back to 2013, when he was formally registered by MPI as a customary permit issuer.
A tangata kaitiaki or permit issuer, under the ministry, is elected by kaumΔtua from local hapΕ« or marae to authorise and manage customary ac
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