Fishery officers this week (9 December 2024) caught a group of people who had taken 460 pāua from a closed area on the south coast of Kaikōura.
"The recreational pāua fishery is closed for the season, so taking pāua is prohibited. Our fishery officers responded to a call on our poacher phone line.
"To make matters worse, the 3 divers refused to allow us to inspect their catch. One of the 3 had a knife on his belt, placed his hand on it and said they were leaving with the pāua.
"Our fishery officers work hard to protect our shared fisheries and will not be intimidated by this sort of behaviour," says Fisheries New Zealand district manager Marlborough and Canterbury, Stuart Moore.
"With the assistance of New Zealand Police, we stopped the 3 people the following day in the Amberley area and found 460 pāua – many undersize, in their vehicles. Their vehicles, dive gear, and all pāua were seized, and serious charges are likely under the Fisheries Act.
"The community has zero tolerance for poaching and neither do we. We’re grateful to our colleagues at police for their back up and support. The rules are there for a reason and when we find evidence of them being broken – we take action,” says Stuart Moore.
MPI encourages people to report suspected illegal activity through the ministry's 0800 4 POACHER number (0800 47 62 24)
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.
