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.
AdvertisementAdvertise 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
“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
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