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Fishery officers seized millions of dollars worth of boats, vehicles and fishing gear last year from "greedy" recreational fishers, organised fish thieves and commercial fishers caught breaking the law.
Ministry of Fisheries chief executive Wayne McNee congratulated the officers for their hard work during 2008, when they carried out around 25,000 recreational fisher inspections and 2000 inspections of commercial fishers, licensed fish receivers and commercial dealers.
The officers also visited schools, community groups and boat shows to talk about fishing rules, which Mr McNee said had led to increased support and increased levels of voluntary compliance.
Ministry of Fisheries national compliance manager Andrew Coleman said poaching continued to be one of the ministry's biggest targets.
"Organised gangs stealing paua and crayfish are of major concern. These species are very accessible to the public, you don't even need a boat to catch them and they fetch high prices on the black market.
"But the success of our fisheries compliance operations has shown that anyone involved in illegal fishing will be caught and severely punished."
The ministry is running a "Size Does Matter" summer awareness campaign to keep the public aware of fishing rules.
The public can access all fishing rules by visiting fish.govt.nz or by calling or visiting their local Ministry of Fisheries office.
Mr Coleman said people going out fishing over the summer period should report fish thieves, or any suspicious fishing activity, by calling 0800 4 POACHER.
- NZPA
