A Northland man has been fined $1000 and has had a car and cash seized after selling mullet illegally.
Mario Pihema, unemployed of Kerikeri, was caught by a fisheries officer selling the fish from his partner's vehicle at the intersection of State Highway 10 and Kerikeri Rd on September 2, 2017.
He was among three Northlanders convicted in the Kaikohe District Court for various breaches of the Fisheries Act.
Pihema, 49, pleaded guilty to selling mullet in breach of the act and was fined $1000 plus $130 court costs. His partner's vehicle, $20 cash from the proceeds of sale, a chilly bin and two cardboard signs advertising fresh mullet were seized.
Pihema caught between 25 and 30 mullet in a net at Kerikeri Inlet and advertised them for sale at two for $10. He was trying to make a bit of extra cash as he had a new baby.