Large paua ring busted in Otago

Months of surveillance in Dunedin has led the Ministry of Fisheries to shut down a large paua poaching operation.

About 13 Fisheries staff and nine police officers have been monitoring a group allegedly harvesting large quantities of paua illegally from the coast north of Tomahawk Beach on Otago Peninsula.

There was strong information to suggest the paua was then being sold illegally to fish shops in Dunedin, Ministry field operations manager Murray Pridham told the Otago Daily Times.

"For our area, this was very organised, serious, high-level stuff."

An aluminium dinghy, 1500 paua shells at a residence, an outboard motor and two vehicles were seized, and about 285 paua believed to have been sold by the group had been recovered from various locations around Dunedin, Mr Pridham said.

Twenty people had been interviewed and inquiries were continuing.

The size of the paua, about 160mm or more, and the shape indicated the paua were from an area closed to commercial fishing.

"They have been working completely outside the system for financial gain. It is very likely that the ringleaders will face prosecution."

- NZPA