Seafood poaching grows

A South Taranaki shellfish poacher was booked by fisheries officers in South Taranaki late yesterday with 117 paua.

The offender was caught near Manaia with many of his illegal catch undersized. Officers caught another near Cape Egmont as gatherers took advantage of low tides.

Fisheries officers Jeff Hill said more people seemed to be poaching paua on Taranaki's coast than taking it legally.

Low tides for the last three nights had fisheries officers and volunteers policing traditional hotspots.

"To be honest I don't think the message is getting through. On Thursday I stopped five groups at the Kawaroa reef in New Plymouth and four of them had been poaching," he said.

The groups took more than their daily limit of 10 each and many were also under the 85mm minimum size.

Paua poaching in Taranaki was dramatically brought to national prominence in January when three Stratford men were found with 701 between them.

On the same night another trio from South Taranaki were found with more than 150.

A month later the poachers were at it again and again three South Taranaki men were caught with more than 300 paua while about 40 others were warned for various other offences.

Last month 40 groups were checked during a weekend operation.

Mr Hill said a man was found on Thursday with three times his daily limit of 50 mussels.

- © Fairfax NZ News