February 17, 2020
Seafood boss on home detention
A former fishing company executive has been sentenced to 10 months home detention and 200 hours community service for an illegal paua operation uncovered by a Ministry for Primary Industries' sting operation.
Giancarlo (Joe) D’Esposito pleaded guilty to buying 1140 kilograms of black market pāua when he was a director of Hawke’s Bay Seafoods.
The company was also fined $27,600.
The night-time purchases for wads of cash predated last year's sale of Hawke's Bay Fisheries' assets to Ngāti Kahungunu, which went through after the company and its directors and owners were fined more than $1 million for under-reporting catches.
Pāua Industry Council chief executive Jeremy Cooper praised the ministry and the undercover fisheries officer who posed as an illegal seller of pāua to D’Esposito.
He said poachers put the whole resource atserious risk.
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