Shellfish gatherers defy limits say officers

By ROSALEEN MACBRAYNE

Ministry of Fisheries staff are worried at the number of amateur anglers taking too many mussels and pipi.

They were out in force along the Coromandel Peninsula at the weekend, supported by honorary fishery officers from Tauranga and Whitianga.

One man faces prosecution for taking 700 mussels with scuba gear from the Thames coast and two fishers may be charged for taking 1100 mussels over the limit from Bowentown.

Prosecutions are also pending after a large amount of undersized paua was taken from Tairua and too many pipi from Cooks Beach. In all, about 33 infringement notices were issued from hundreds of inspections.

Tauranga-based district compliance manager Brendon Mikkelsen said yesterday that the number of mussels and pipi taken over the limit was a concern. So, too, was the taking of undersized scallops and the illegal shucking (peeling) of scallops at sea.