KEY POINTS:
Ministry of Fisheries officers and police seized hundreds of fresh and frozen paua, many undersized, from a Gisborne address yesterday.
East Coast District compliance manager Neville Buckley said approximately 300 dried paua and approximately 400 fresh or frozen paua were seized.
"Final counts measurements and weighing is continuing but at this stage it is likely that a significant number of the paua seized will be found to be under the legal size of 125mm."
Fishery officers interviewed a number of people regarding the seizure and expected that others would be interviewed over the next few days.
"There is a limit on the amount of fish that can be taken out of any given area before there is a decline in people's ability to catch a decent feed," Mr Buckley said.
"The taking of excess numbers and undersize will affect the ability to take fish both for this and future generations."
Mr Buckley said that the seizure was related to an ongoing focus on the taking of illegal fish in the East Coast District.
Penalties are set at a maximum of $250,000 with forfeiture of vessels and vehicles possible to reflect the importance of protecting the fishery.
- NZPA
