7 February 2011
Another large paua seizure in Wairarapa
Fishery Officers and Police yesterday seized 708 paua and a motor vehicle in Wairarapa after they had stopped the
vehicle and found the paua in the boot.
Earlier in the day, the officers had observed a group of people gathering paua among the rocks at Mataikona.
Three vehicles with 10 people inside were later stopped on their way back to Masterton. One of the vehicles was found to
have paua and dive gear in the boot. None of the group admitted taking any of the shellfish.
The paua, which had been shucked, ranged in weight from between 18 and 130 grams, which meant a large quantity of the
catch was undersize.
Ray McKay, Field Operations Manager for the Hawke’s Bay Wairarapa area, said that last week Masterton Fishery Officers
seized 145 paua which they believed were gathered by the same group in the Castlepoint area. He said this meant that
around 1000 paua had been seized in this area within a week.
Fishery Officers had also recovered around 900 paua shells in the Ruamahanga River area, which appeared to have been
abandoned over the weekend.
“This is extremely disappointing,” Mr McKay said. “Although gaining voluntary compliance from the recreational sector is
the Ministry’s first priority, we have no hesitation in putting those who blatantly breach fisheries legislation before
the courts.”
Mr McKay urged members of the public to continue using the 0800 4 POACHER (0800 476 224) number if they observe anything
suspicious at beaches or any remote locations.
“The Wairarapa coast is vast and the only way we will make any significant inroads into this environmental theft is with
the help of the Wairarapa public,” he said.
Mr McKay also said he wished to acknowledge the ongoing support that the Wairarapa Police provided to the two
Masterton-based Fishery Officers.
ENDS