Five people caught with 99 snapper, including 38 undersize fish. Photo / Ministry for Primary Industries
Five people caught with 99 snapper, including 38 undersize fish. Photo / Ministry for Primary Industries
Five fishermen were caught with 99 snapper, including 38 undersize fish in east Auckland on Saturday night.
Ministry for Primary Industries Auckland fishery officers seized a recreational boat after the group were found at the Half Moon Bay boat ramp in east Auckland.
As the daily bag limit for snapperin the Hauraki Gulf is seven per person, there should have only been 35 fish caught. The minimum size for snapper caught in the upper North Island is 30cm.
Fisheries Regional Compliance Manager, Andre Espinoza said investigations are still undergoing and the people involved are likely to face court action.
Five people caught with 99 snapper, including 38 undersize fish. Photo / Ministry for Primary Industries
In the upper North Island, fines are handed out for people caught with undersized fish and over the daily bag limit. But if a person is caught three times over the daily limit they face prosecution and/or gear forfeiture.
• To report poaching, suspicious or illegal activity – call 0800 4 POACHER (800 476 224).