George Esela admitted to using a dragnet in a banned area on 12 occasions.
UpdatedShannon PitmanOpen Justice multimedia journalist, Whangārei·NZ Herald·24 Jun, 2026 01:07 AM2 mins to readGeorge Esela of Northland had his boat forfeited to the crown after fishing in prohibited areas.After years spent hauling nets and carving out a living at sea, it wasn’t the fine that cut deepest when George Esela was caught fishing in a prohibited area.Instead, it was losing his treasured boat that carried his livelihood.
Esela, of One Tree Point, appeared in the Whangārei District
Ashley Rescorla, 40, was skippering the Amber Mabel fishing boat when it docked in Padstow in April last year.
The unpermitted moves risked the Bluff oyster fishery’s vital biosecurity.
A Ngongotahā fisherman says the poaching means the kids he mentors are missing out.
Tom Rose tested the case for tougher lifejacket laws by taking a dive without one.
After decades of fighting for their traditional fishing rights, Aboriginal custodians are now fighting to save their sea country…
His mother said a sailor found skeletal remains on Motukaramarama Island in January.
