A commercial fisherman who admitted causing the deaths of 39 albatross stormed out of Nelson District Court after he was sentenced to 300 hours' community work.
Daniel Smyth, 37, was caught by a Ministry for Primary Industries onboard observer hooking the giant seabirds while he trawled for tuna off the South Island's west coast in April.
Smyth failed to reel out a brightly coloured streamer line - a tori line - which is used to deter the birds from the baited hooks.
Smyth's lawyer told the court her client was concerned the tori lines made his vessel unsafe for the crew, but says he regrets his actions.
"He has expressed significant remorse, attended various sea bird mitigation meetings and taken positive steps to work on a suitable line to use with his vessel."
Judge Tony Zohrab said MPI had described the offending as "selfish, deliberate and repetitive".
"You were the master of the ship, you had complete control of ship's actions and you knew you had to use the lines," he said.
Judge Zohrab said deterrence is key to stop more incidents like it.
Initially Smyth was to be fined $18750, but the court heard given his track record with paying previous fines that it was more appropriate to issue a community-based sentence.
Smyth's lawyer told the court her client was remorseful but throughout the sentence he shook his head and laughed under his breath.
When the final sentence was handed down he stormed out of the courtroom.
MPI compliance manager Gary Orr says the sentence is appropriate. "It's disappointing that we have to resort to prosecution action to deter people from this type of offending.
"I think it will be a deterrent sentence for him and it'll certainly send a message to other fishers who may be inclined to ignore the requirements as well.
"Everybody is very aware of the fact that this is a strict requirement. This is not a lapse of decision-making, this is a conscious choice not to comply with the law, and it's appropriate that prosecution follows."
Smyth was repeatedly told to stop using the unmarked lines, which dragged 800 hooks just under surface.
MPI lawyer William Jennings told the court scientific research has proven the tori line's effectiveness, and asked the judge for any sentence to have a strong deterrence factor.
Newshub.
