Ben Knight with TVNZ reporter Kate Nicol-Williams
Deputy U.S. Embassy Chief of Mission (Chef de Mission) Susan Niblock with Karl Webber.
We reported on this project in June. Its official inauguration took place on Tuesday with those involved and several invited guests.
From the TV One News website:
A solar-powered, Wi-Fi camera on Kapiti Island has been officially launched by locals in an attempt to stop illegal fishing.
“We’ve seen a massive increase in the number of reported offences for illegal fishing in Kapiti marine reserve so anecdotally we know that it’s occurring and that camera’s going to help us to build a better picture of the extent of that illegal fishing,” Guardians of the Kapiti Marine Reserve chair Ben Knight said.
Mr Knight said several acts of poaching had occurred last summer in front of other members of the public in the northern part of the island’s reserve.
“If it’s happening on a good day then who knows how much is going on on those marginal boating days so the webcam’s here all the time, it’s keeping an eye on the water for us when we can’t be up here keeping an eye on it ourselves,” he said.
The $15,500 project has been largely financed by the US Embassy, with $4,000 in funding coming from the Department of Conservation.
Read the rest and see the video
On the U.S. Embassy Facebook page:
Native flora and fauna is enough to entice anyone to Kapiti Island, particularly when the Guardians of the Kapiti Marine Reserve launched their Kaitaki Camera Network as a tool to observe and monitor the incidence of illegal fishing in the surrounding Kapiti Marine Reserve. Deputy Chief of Mission, Susan Niblock, was honored to acknowledge the opening of the camera network with members of the Trust, New Zealand Police, local Iwi, Kāpiti Coast District Council and Ministry for Primary Industries representatives. The U.S Embassy is proud to support initiatives which combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in protected marine areas.