Fishers who took too much pāua, shrimp, mussels and tuatua have been fined thousands of dollars along with being placed on community work.
“People who choose to ignore the fishing rules need to know there will be consequences,” says Fisheries New Zealand’s Director of Fisheries Compliance, Steve Ham.
“Our job is to protect fishing resources so that everyone can enjoy the opportunity to put fresh kaimoana on the dinner the table.”
The following cases were before the courts over the past month.
A 25-year-old Porirua man was fined $800 in the Porirua District Court for taking 18 pāua – with 17 of the shellfish undersize. The man had his catch inspected at Breaker Bay in Wellington last November by Fishery Officers. The daily limit per person for taking pāua in the area is five at a minimum size of 125mm.
A 44-year-old Lower Hutt man was fined $2000 in the Hutt Valley District Court for taking 48 pāua – with 46 of the shellfish undersize. The man had been diving at Burdans Gate in Eastbourne in October last year. His catch was inspected by Fishery Officers. The daily limit in this area per person is five at a minimum size of 125mm.
59-year-old Porirua man was fined $2500 in the Wellington District Court for taking 100 pāua, 127 kina and using underwater breathing apparatus (UBA) to harvest the pāua. The man had been diving at Ōwhiro Bay in 2023 and had his catch inspected. At the time the daily limit for taking pāua in the area was 10 per person. Currently it is five per person. It is illegal to use UBA to gather pāua and the daily limit per person for taking kina in this area is 50.
A 71-year-old Auckland man was fined $1000 in the Waitakere District Court for taking 198 shrimp. The man had his catch inspected by Fishery Officers in March in Avondale. The daily limit for taking shrimp in the area is 50 per person.
A 39-year-old Hawera man was fined $1200 in the Hawera District Court for taking 45 pāua. The man was stopped by Fishery Officers in November last year and two of the pāua were undersize. The daily limit in this area is five per person at a minimum size of 85mm.
45-year-old Auckland man was fined $900 in the North Shore District Court for taking 385 green lipped mussels. The man had his catch inspected at Muriwai Beach in December last year. The daily limit per person in this area is 25. Two other people who were taking mussels with the man are still before the court.
Two men from the Far North, aged 39 and 32, have both been ordered to do 40 hours’ community work for taking 542 mussels from 90 Mile Beach. They were sentence in the Kaitaia District Court. The men had their catch inspected by Honorary Fishery Officers in January this year. The daily limit per person for taking mussels in this area is 50 each.
A 52-year-old Northland man was fined $750 in the Kaitaia District Court for taking 618 tuatua from 90 Mile Beach. The man had his catch inspected by Honorary Fishery Officers in February this year. The daily limit per person in this area is 150 tuatua.
A 32-year-old Auckland man was fined $2100 in the Wellington District Court for taking 70 pāua while on holiday in the capital. The man took the pāua from the Makara area and Fishery Officers were notified by the owner of an Airbnb property about a large quantity or pāua drying in an oven. The daily limit per person for pāua in this area is 5 at minimum size of 125mm.
“If you’re unsure of the fishing rules in the area you plan to fish, get the most up-to-date fishing rules by downloading the free NZ Fishing Rules mobile app. It will also work if you are fishing in an area with limited mobile coverage,” says Mr Ham.
We encourage people to report any suspected illegal activity through the Ministry for Primary Industries’ 0800 4 POACHER line (0800 476 224).
