Expensive lessons for people taking too much or undersize shellfish and selling recreational catch
Fishers taking undersize or too much shellfish and two men who sold their recreational catch have been dealt thousands of dollars in fines over the past two months.
“People who choose to ignore the fishing rules need to know there will be consequences. Our job is to protect fishing resources so that everyone can enjoy the opportunity to put fresh kaimoana on the dinner the table,” says Fisheries New Zealand Director of Fisheries Compliance, Steve Ham.
A 44-year-old Timaru man was fined $800 in the Timaru District Court for being in possession of 201 mussels. The daily limit is 50 per gatherer. The man had his catch inspected by Fishery Officers in September last year.
A 45-year-old New Plymouth man was ordered to do 80 hours community work by the New Plymouth District Court for taking 41 pāua of which 19 were undersize. The man was stopped at Moturoa and had his catch inspected by Fishery Officers in September 2023. The minimum legal size for taking pāua from this area is 85mm and gatherers can take five per day.
A 27-year-old Opunake man was fined $1600 in the New Plymouth District Court for taking 55 kina from Te Namu Bay in September last year. The area is closed to gathering shellfish except for crayfish.
A 39-year-old Maketu man was fined $950 in the Tauranga District Court for taking seven undersize pāua. The man was stopped by a Fishery Officer in January. He had hidden the pāua in rocks and refused to cooperate with the Fishery Officer and drove off but was later identified by Police. The daily legal limit is 5 pāua per gatherer in that area with a minimum size of 125mm.
A 33-year-old Tolaga Bay man was fined $1200 in the Gisborne District Court for taking 25 undersize pāua in September last year. The man had his catch inspected by Fishery Officers at a checkpoint at Kaiaua beach. The daily limit per person for pāua in this area is five with a minimum size of 125mm.
A 34-year-old Gisborne man was ordered to do 40 hours community work for being in possession of 175 kina. The man was sentenced in the Gisborne District Court. Last year he had his catch inspected by Fishery Officers who found he had more than three times the daily limit of 50 kina per person.
A 23-year-old Gisborne man was ordered to do 40 hours community work by the Gisborne District Court. The man was stopped by Fishery Officers at Turihaua Beach in December last year. He had 10 undersize crayfish. The daily limit is six per person a day with a minimum legal size of 54mm for female crayfish and 60mm for male crayfish.
A 47-year-old Auckland man was fined $200 in the Manukau District Court for using two set nets in a prohibition area – the Tamaki River. The man was stopped by Fishery Officers in January this year. He was earlier fined for having several undersize fish in his nets.
A 47-year-old and his 72-year-old father were fined a total of $6,960 for selling some of their recreational fishing take. The men were sentenced in the Porirua District Court. Over an 18-month period (2022- 2024), the younger man was found to have sold various recreationally caught fish on at least 15 occasions he took from the Lower West Coast of the North Island when he was a commercial fisher. The other man who was a retired fisher also took part in some of fishing and sold Hapuka on at least two occasions.
“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’re fishing in an area with limited mobile coverage,” says Fisheries New Zealand Director of Fisheries Compliance Steve Ham.
Fisheries New Zealand encourages people to report any suspected illegal fishing activity through the Ministry for Primary Industries’ 0800 4 POACHER line (0800 47 62 24).
