Description
New Zealand has one of the longest
stretches of coastline in the
world; beaches and boating shape
its national identity. Coast Watch
follows the men and women who
patrol and protect New Zealand's
precious waterways - the Ministry
of Fisheries and the Maritime
Police - produced by Cream TV, the
makers of high-rating Border
Patrol.
New Zealand is a nation of boaties
and fishers with an enviable
aquatic lifestyle that is an
international icon. Yet its
waterways are increasingly fraught
with danger and confrontation. From
highly-organised international
poachers, to gangs stripping paua
beds between cannabis growing
seasons, illegal poaching of fish
and shellfish is a national
nightmare; Paua alone is a $36
million annual black-market
business. Poaching is so chronic in
some parts of the country some fish
stocks could be wiped out.
"We'll solve the poaching problem
all right," say M-Fish officers:
"There'll be nothing left to
poach."
The stakes are increasing: Sky-
rocketing prices in Asia for black-
market shellfish make the trade
even more lucrative - but
increasing penalties, mandatory
prison terms and confiscation of
boats have racked up the tension.
Large-scale busts like Operation
Pacman have increased the profile
of the problem, but Coast Watch
will give the clearest picture yet
of the level of crime being
committed in our seas.
Coast Watch joins Ministry of
Fisheries (M-Fish) officers on
surveillance and busts of organised
Paua and white fish poachers in
Northland, follows Gisborne
officers who find illegally
harvested crayfish, travels in an
RNZAF Orion on the lookout for
rogue trawlers and is on the spot
for searches of homes and
confiscation of boats.
It's not just large-scale poaching
however; plenty of recreational
fishermen and women flout the rules
- and get caught by Coast Watch. To
many boaties, "it's just one
extra,
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Factual / Documentary
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