A man who poached 257kg of paua from around Wellington has been banned from fishing for three years and given home detention close to Whangarei Harbour.
Sonny Gilbert Wairau, 38, appeared in Wellington District Court last week for sentence after pleading guilty to 40 charges of illegally selling paua, offering to sell them, and breaching the prohibition order.
Wairau was part of a gang who poached hundreds of kilograms of paua and sea cucumber from around Wellington
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) operation involved three main offenders that called themselves The Paua Corporation.
Over a 7 month period, the men illegally took 257kg of greenweight paua and 31kg of sea cucumbers from around the Wellington coastline and then illegally sold the paua and sea cucumbers. The value of the pāua, if sold legitimately, was more than $17,000.