A New Zealand man has been sentenced to 200 hours community service after getting caught selling illegal paua on Facebook.
Raymond Major was initially identified after offering both paua and kina for sale through his Facebook page. A Fishery Officer was then deployed to make contact with the defendant and arrange to buy seafood from him.
In February the officer met with Major at a Rotorua car park where he purchased two plastic bags containing a total of 40 paua for $100. He arranged to meet Major again five days later where he purchased a further 20 paua in their shells for $50. All the paua were undersized and ranged between 89-117mm. The daily limit for paua is 10 per person and the minimum size is 125mm.
In a subsequent interview Major admitted selling paua to the officer. He said he was aware of the recreational daily limits for paua; however he claimed he was not aware that it is illegal to sell recreationally taken seafood.
MPI Waikato/BOP District Compliance Manager, Brendon Mikkelsen says he is glad to see the courts passing down strong sentences to those who choose to flout New Zealand’s fisheries laws.
“Black market dealings in paua are effectively theft of a national resource and claiming ignorance is never an excuse. It is up to all fishers to know and comply with New Zealand’s fishery laws, or risk prosecution.”
