Pair fined for buying black market paua

An Auckland pair bought 31kg of poached paua last March. Photo / Tania Webb

An Auckland man and woman have been fined after pleading guilty to buying black market paua poached from the Wellington coast.

Luo Yan Wen 44, was fined $1500 and had his $4000 car forfeited to the crown when he appeared in Auckland District Court today.

Chen Guoying 41, was fined $500 for receiving the paua.

Ministry of Fisheries investigations manager Mark Nicholson said Luo bought 26kg of illegal paua from a man in two separate purchases in March last year.

Chen bought 5kg of illegal paua from the same source.

The man selling the paua had been supplied by a group of divers operating off the Wellington coast, Mr Nicholson said.

Fishery officers had been tipped off to the divers' operation and were able to trace the paua to point of sale.

The man who sold the paua faces Fisheries Act charges.

- NZPA