The Air Force has swooped on catch-bags and fishing boats during a crackdown on the “paua poaching capital of New Zealand”.
In a three-day, 680-kilometre joint effort with Ministry for Primary Industries fisheries officers, the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s (RNZAF) No.3 Squadron patrolled the South Island’s West Coast and Wellington’s south coast last week.
The officers carried out 17 catch inspections and monitored 16 commercial fishing boats during the patrol, which kept poachers “on the move”, the Air Force’s Air Component Commander Air Commodore Tony Davies said.
“Paua poaching is a tough nut to crack. However, because of the great teamwork between the New Zealand Defence Force and the MPI, we have delivered an unmistakable warning to serious offenders.”
Many of the beaches or reefs patrolled were remote and rugged so the RNZAF’s A109 helicopter was the ideal way to monitor them, he said.
One of six divers’ catch-bags inspected on Wellington’s south coast contained about 100 paua – the legal limit is 10.
MPI Compliance Operations Manager Gary Orr said there was still a long way to go to get on top of illegal paua gathering.
“But our joint patrols with NZDF have succeeded in making a dent on Wellington’s image as the paua poaching capital of New Zealand.”
One prosecution and one infringement notice for possession of undersized fish could follow the patrols, Orr said.
2016 Fairfax New Zealand Limited