Iwi buys Hawke's Bay Seafoods business at centre of under-reporting its fishing
Monday, 1 April 2019
Hawke's Bay Seafoods, the company at the centre of large fisheries offending, has been sold.
As of Monday the company was trading as Takitimu Seafoods.
The company's website states the business had been sold and would be operating as a new entity, Takitimu Seafoods, from April 1.
Takitimu Seafoods (GP) Ltd was incorporated on March 14. It's sole shareholder is Kahungunu Asset Holding Company Ltd., which manages assets on behalf of Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated.
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The potential purchase was announced by chairman of Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated, Ngahiwi Tomoana, in February, within days of the sentencing of the company for under-reporting its catch.
Tomoana could not be reached for comment.
A Ngāti Kahungunu spokeswoman said no comment would be made until a media release was issued later today.
Hawke's Bay Seafoods sole director Nino D'Esposito could not be contacted for comment.
In February Tomoana said the iwi had been intending to buy a controlling interest in the company at the time it was raided by MPI in 2014.
The raid led to the lengthy court action that resulted in a massive fine of $1.08 million ordered against the company, its related companies, directors and manager.
Negotiations to buy into the company were suspended after the raid.
The company employed more than 250 people 'many of whom are our own people' and 'Ngāti Kahungunu will seek to ensure that environmental, cultural, social and economic benefits are paramount', he said.
The company and directors were sentenced by Judge Bill Hastings in Wellington District Court in February.
Initially the company and directors had pleaded not guilty which led to a trial before the judge that lasted nearly a year before they all suddenly pleaded guilty at the end of 2017.
Last year convictions were entered on 85 charges against Antonino, Giancarlo and Marcus D'Esposito, 22 charges against Esplanade, eight against Ocean and 15 against Hawke's Bay Seafoods of making false statements and the sale of unreported fish.
The charges relate to landings of fish to New Zealand and their export to Australia between November 2012 and July 2014 where the amounts of bluenose were under-reported before export.
The judge had broken down the fines for each defendants, HB Seafoods fined $410,232, Ocean Enterprises $215,373, Esplanade $141,434, Marcus D'Esposito $126,639, Giancarlo D'Esposito $106,686 and Nino D'Esposito $86,309.
The total amount was $1,086,673. Judge Hastings also ordered the companies to pay $418,500 in redemption fees for the return of the four fishing vessels the court had ordered forfeit to the Crown.
Since 2010 HBS had an agreement to purchase the iwi's annual catch entitlement of about 1000 tonnes of various species in return for providing employment and training for iwi members.
In 2017 the iwi announced it was entering a joint venture with the Tainui iwi and had paid $3.5 m for the 34 metre Glomjford vessel, which it bought in Norway, with the intention of fishing its own quota.