A Rotorua man has been sentenced to 200 hours' community service after pleading guilty to paua poaching charges.
The Ministry for Primary Industries reported that Raymond Major, 34, unemployed, appeared in the Rotorua District Court on July 31 on charges under Section 232 of the Fisheries Act 1996 relating to the illegal sale of paua.
Major was initially identified after offering both paua and kina for sale through his Facebook page. A Fishery Officer was then deployed to make contact with the defendant and arrange to buy seafood from him.
On the February 17 this year the officer met with Major at a Rotorua car park where he purchased two plastic bags containing a total of 40 paua for $100. He arranged to meet Major again five days later where he purchased a further 20 paua in their shells for $50. All the paua were undersized and ranged between 89 and 117mm. The daily limit for paua is 10 per person and the minimum size is 125mm.
In a subsequent interview Major admitted selling paua to the officer. He said he was aware of the recreational daily limits for paua; however he claimed he was not aware that it was illegal to sell recreationally taken seafood.
