MPI officers found 65 pāua in a freezer along with 554 shucked pāua in another freezer during a raid in Porirua in 2022. Photo / Ministry of Primary Industries
MPI officers found 65 pāua in a freezer along with 554 shucked pāua in another freezer during a raid in Porirua in 2022. Photo / Ministry of Primary Industries
A Porirua man caught with 619 pāua, which he intended to sell, has been jailed for two years and six months.
Ruteru Sufia was sentenced in the Porirua District Court today on four charges under the Fisheries Act and one charge under the Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations.
The 63-year-old hasalso been banned from all forms of fishing for three years.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) said fishery officers carried out a search warrant at Sufia’s home in November 2022 and found 65 pāua in a freezer along with 554 shucked pāua in another freezer.
MPI officers found 65 pāua in a freezer along with 554 shucked pāua in another freezer during a raid in Porirua in 2022. Photo / Ministry for Primary Industries
“We have zero tolerance for poachers – they affect the sustainability of our shared fisheries and they affect people who legitimately trade in seafood,” he said.
“Mr Sufia claimed the pāua in his freezer was for a wedding in Auckland, an explanation the court didn’t believe.
“Mr Sufia’s offending was deliberate. He wasn’t concerned with legal size and catch limits; he was driven by financial gain from poaching this pāua.”
Tasker said MPI would always investigate evidence of illegal fishing and aim to bring it before the courts.
Sufia had a long record of breaking fisheries rules with more than 35 offences dealt with by MPI over a number of years.
MPI encourages people to report suspected illegal activity through the ministry’s 0800 4 POACHER number (0800 476 224).
