A Tauranga commercial fisherman accused of failing to declare more than 12 tonnes of fish he caught could be facing substantial fines and the loss of his $300,000 commercial fishing boat.

Jay Debra on the hard.

The fishing boat, Jay Debra, was lifted out of the water at Tauranga today and placed on the hard standing.

The man is facing 14 charges under the Fisheries Act 1996, each of which carries a maximum of $250,000 fine and the forfeiture of his vessel.

Ministry of Fisheries field operations manager Brendon Mikkelsen says a significant investigation by Bay of Plenty fishery investigators revealed that the man had been under-reporting substantial quantities of fish that he had caught.

'The Quota Management System is essentially a self reporting system.

'It heavily relies upon commercial fishers supplying accurate and correct statutory fishing returns.”

Brendon says the vast majority of commercial fishers do supply accurate returns, detailing the amount and the species of fish they have caught and where they caught them.

'This helps us ensure a healthy fishery for the future.”

He says those who deliberately under-declare fish are ripping off both their fellow commercial fishers and the non-commercial fishers in their community.

'These are very serious charges that can potentially carry significant penalties,”

The ministry has already seized and retained the man's $300,000 commercial fishing boat. Should he be convicted it will become liable for permanent forfeiture to the Crown.