Eight people caught with over 10,000 cockles

Photo / Peter De Graaf

Two vehicles have been seized by authorities after eight people were caught with more than 10,000 cockles leaving an estuary north of Christchurch on Monday.

The group had 9300 cockles more than the daily limit for Canterbury - possibly the largest illegal haul in New Zealand for many years, Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) officials said.

Compliance officers received a hotline tip-off about a group of people who had been gathering seafood for a lengthy period of time at Ashley River near Waikuku Beach.

The officers stopped three cars and found four large sacks of cockles in one car and five large sacks in another.It took four officers more than an hour to count the 10,500 cockles.

The daily limit for recreational cockle gathering in Canterbury is 150 per person.MPI Canterbury and Westland district compliance manager Peter Hyde said it was the largest haul of cockles any of his staff could remember being taken from the Canterbury area.

"It's nothing to celebrate as shellfish beds can't take this sort of pressure for long," he said."We are delighted to get a timely tip-off from the public, as the illegal activity was happening, and this allowed us to apprehend these people."

It was individual's obligation to know the rules for the area they fish, he said.Information on limits and sizes can be found at mpi.govt.nz and MPI encourages people to report any suspicious fishing activity to 0800 4 POACHER.