Six suspects were apprehended by the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) for fisheries violations in two separate incidents last weekend.
MPI District Compliance Manager Northland, Darren Edwards says the rules are there for a reason, and those flouting them need to be held to account. “Toheroa are a prohibited shellfish, the only way that they can be gathered is by way of customary permit for hui or tangi. Offending of this scale is nothing but blatant theft and undermines the Fisheries Act and further depletes a fishery which is already prohibited for this reason.”
