Huge haul of tiny paua returned to the sea after a day of busts

Just two of the paua were legally sized and at least eight people would be likely to appear in court. Photo: Supplied

Almost 600 undersized paua have been returned to the sea near Napier after several large-scale paua busts in one day.

Ministry for Primary Industries team manager for the eastern and lower North Island, Mike Green said there were a steady stream of discoveries on Friday of people taking excess paua as well as undersized paua at Tangoio Beach.

"Officers were involved in at least five incidents over a matter of a few hours where people were caught with very large amounts of paua, most of which didn't meet the minimum size requirements," said Mr Green.

"In the first incident, fisheries offices stopped two men as they returned to their vehicle and found they had 87 undersized paua between them.

"Shortly after that, another man arrived on the scene with a heavily laden pack full of paua which he put into a car before being approached by fisheries officers.

"As one of the officers was speaking to him, the man sped away but his attempt to evade the officers ended abruptly when he collided with a caravan parked nearby.

"The man then leapt from the car and ran off taking the back pack with him. He returned a short time later without the back pack but officers found the bag hidden in long grass some time later.

"While officers were dealing with the vehicle crash incident another man arrived at the carpark with a sack. When that bag was inspected, it was found to contain 140 paua, the majority of which were undersized.

Soon after, another man appeared with his catch from a dive at the nearby reef.

"When officers approached him, he became aggressive and refused to cooperate with an inspection," Mr Green said.

"Despite all efforts to reason with him, the situation escalated to the point where the man was arrested for obstruction. A search of his bag revealed 66 undersized paua.

Later that same evening, officers noticed another vehicle arrive at the beach and an inspection revealed a further large quantity of undersized paua.

"As a result of all of these incidents, a total of 573 paua was seized and returned to the sea although, unfortunately, some may have been out of the water too long to survive.

"Only two of the paua were legally sized. At least eight people are likely to appear in court on various charges as a result. In addition, three vehicles used in the commission of the offences were seized."

Mr Green said the incidents were very disappointing.

"People are continuing to flout the law despite knowing the rules and regulations around catch sizes and limits.

"There is no excuse for this sort of offending. As summer approaches, MPI fisheries officers will be out and about in greater numbers, reminding people of the rules and holding people to account where there is evidence of offending.

"What people need to realise is their illegal actions have a detrimental impact on paua stocks as well as the availability of paua for future generations."

Mr Green urged the public to report any suspicious behaviour to 0800 4 POACHER (0800 476 224).