Three senior crew from a Malta-flagged-charter vessel have been charged with illegally dumping fish at sea under the Fisheries Act in New Zealand.

The charges were called in the Christchurch District Court on Friday and have been adjourned until 18 September. No pleas were entered.

The vessel, which was contracted to fish for a New Zealand fishing company, is registered in Malta and has a Polish crew.

Ministry of Fisheries Christchurch Investigations Manager John Slaughter said the charges relate to the vessel fishing for hoki in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone east of the South Island.

Mr Slaughter said dumping fish undermines the ongoing sustainability of New Zealand’s fisheries and was taken extremely seriously by MFish.

Fish-dumping is the illegal practice of getting rid of less valuable fish, including small and damaged fish, from a vessel’s catch at sea. This allows catches to be made up of more valuable fish. This practice can also be referred to as “high-grading”, as only the highest-grade fish are retained.

With some species, bigger fish fetch a better price so the small ones are dumped. Some species are less valuable and are dumped occasionally. Damaged fish are less valuable and are dumped from time to time.