The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

MPI officers seize 619 pāua during Porirua raid, man jailed for more than two years

NZ Herald
22 Jul, 2025 06:21 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
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 has also 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.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

According to MPI numbers, the pāua seized is 60 times the daily catch limit and more than 30 times the accumulation limit.

MPI said 45 of the pāua seized were undersized.

While on bail for those charges, Sufia was caught with a further 48 pāua, with 29 less than the minimum legal size.

Fisheries New Zealand fisheries compliance regional manager Phil Tasker said Sufia intended to sell the seafood, which is illegal.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
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
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).

For further information and general inquiries, call MPI on 0800 008 333 or email info@mpi.govt.nz

Save
    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

Hope for recovery: Harvest ban at Tangoiro/Waihirere and Motuoroi fisheries extended

The Country

The PM on butter prices and 'frickin' Chris Hipkins on The Country

The Country

Dropping livestock numbers dominate red meat sector event


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

Hope for recovery: Harvest ban at Tangoiro/Waihirere and Motuoroi fisheries extended
The Country

Hope for recovery: Harvest ban at Tangoiro/Waihirere and Motuoroi fisheries extended

A local hapū asked for the measures to allow recovery from overfishing and storm events.

23 Jul 06:00 AM
The PM on butter prices and 'frickin' Chris Hipkins on The Country
The Country

The PM on butter prices and 'frickin' Chris Hipkins on The Country

23 Jul 01:26 AM
Dropping livestock numbers dominate red meat sector event
The Country

Dropping livestock numbers dominate red meat sector event

23 Jul 12:44 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP