Ministry of Fisheries has started operation focusing on the west coast in the Hokianga, 27 people were apprehended and 912 undersize paua were seized and returned to the sea. A four-wheel drive vehicle and a large amount of dive gear used in the offending were also seized. Northland Field Operations Manager Darren Edwards said all the people apprehended were local to the Hokianga or Kaikohe area.
Edward said that the most disturbing factor of this offending was the fact that the men had obtained a customary permit which had allowed them to take 80 paua, but had chosen to ignore that and instead took huge amounts of undersize paua. He informed that the daily bag limit for paua is 10 per diver with a minimum size restriction of 125 millimetres.
This paua fishery is always come under sustained pressure from local people who don’t seem to understand that the daily bag and size restrictions are there to ensure that we have a sustainable paua fishery now and into the future for all to appreciate. Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Phil Heatley, who is also Whangarei MP, said heis totally behind the ministry’s efforts to stop the fish thieves. He says there is a need to protect paua stocks. These people are stealing from all New Zealanders, including future generations, and must be nailed to the fence, says Heatley.
