Lots of mussel and other seashells washed up on a beach in Canterbury, New Zealand.
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Aroma Aquaculture Limited, a New Zealand aquaculture company, has been fined $24,000 for illegally supplying thousands of live green-lipped mussels from a restricted area to an exporter.
The sentence was issued by the Christchurch District Court on a representative charge under the Biosecurity Act, following a successful prosecution by the Ministry for Primary Industries.
According to the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries, the company supplied 27 shipments totaling approximately 259,000 kg of live green-lipped mussels to the licensed fish receiver and exporter Ikana New Zealand Limited.
Regarding this, the acting Director of Investigations and Compliance Support, Aleshea Allen, stated: "The movement of the shellfish was carried out in breach of the movement controls in place to prevent the spread of Bonamia ostreae."
The first alert was raised by a biosecurity inspector after discovering evidence that shipments of green-lipped mussels were being illegally transported by a group of marine producers, transporters, and processors.
Aroma Aquaculture Limited is based in Christchurch, in the Canterbury region, and is part of a family-owned business group with a long-standing history in the country's marine sector. The company operates marine farms where it cultivates shellfish before processing and exporting them.
"Aroma Aquaculture's actions had the potential to cause serious harm both to the natural environment and to the reputation of the country’s export and domestic shellfish industry. When we find evidence of offending, we take action," concluded Aleshea Allen.