Three people are likely to face serious charges after they were stopped in a car allegedly containing 422 pāua taken from Kaikōura’s south coast – more than half of which were undersized.
Fishery Officers had previously stopped the car on Sunday afternoon and were attempting to inspect their catch when the driver of the car drove off, Fisheries New Zealand district manager Marlborough/Canterbury Stuart Moore said.
The car was stopped by police yesterday in Rangiora.
“Of the 422 pāua recovered from the car, 230 were undersized. People who disregard the rules like this steal from us all,” Moore said.
The daily catch limit is three pāua per person with a minimum legal size of 130mm.
Moore said the limit “is there for a reason – to protect our shared fisheries and keep them sustainable”.
“We take this kind of offending very seriously. Our message to the small number of people who go out to break the rules for their own benefit is that there will be consequences.”
Anyone who suspected illegal activity could make a report to the Ministry for Primary Industries via 0800 4 POACHER (0800 476 224).
