Fisheries New Zealand fishery officers caught 2 divers with 369 undersize pāua at Sponge Bay in Gisborne yesterday.
Officers discovered the pair when they were patrolling the coast and inspected their catch.
"The divers were preparing to leave the area when they were stopped for a routine check of their catch. It was very disappointing to find they had 369 undersize pāua, the smallest pāua was only 56mm," says Fisheries New Zealand district manager, Gisborne/Whakatane, Jordan Cooper.
Officers returned the pāua to the sea and seized their vehicle and diving gear. Fisheries New Zealand is considering next steps, including prosecution.
"When we find evidence of people deliberately breaking the rules – we will hold them to account. The rules are there for a reason – to keep our shared fisheries sustainable into the future.
"The daily limit per person for gathering pāua is 5 with a minimum size of 125mm and we would strongly encourage anyone who is unaware of the rules to download the free NZ Fishing Rules mobile app which will provide you the latest rules, including closures and gear restrictions for any area you intend to fish," Jordan Cooper says.
We encourage people to report any suspected illegal activity through the Ministry for Primary Industries’ 0800 4 POACHER line (0800 476 224).
For further information and general enquiries, call MPI on 0800 008 333 or email info@mpi.govt.nz
For media enquiries, contact the media team on 029 894 0328.
