Source: Ministry for Primary Industries
Date:
Media contact: MPI media team
A Te Anau chef has been fined $3340 for possessing 202 pāua for the purposes of sale.
Jinshan Feng, 49, was sentenced in his absence in the Invercargill District Court yesterday on 3 fisheries charges relating to the illegal possession of 202 pāua, of which 33 were undersized, as well as a charge that the pāua were possessed for the purposes of sale. The daily legal limit in this area is 10 pāua per person.
The Court fined him a total of $3340 which included court and solicitor fees.
MPI national fisheries compliance manager, Steve Ham says the rules are there for a reason – to protect the fishing resources.
“We will continue to hold pāua poachers who benefit from the sale of illegal harvesting to account.”
“We are protecting important taonga that are central to our way of life.”
The charges relate to an incident on 13 January 2020. Ministry for Primary Industries’ Fishery Officers acting on a tip-off, came across Feng and an accomplice on the Bluff Millennium Walkway.
When the men saw the Fishery Officers they turned and ran away, dumping their bags in the bushes. One of the Fishery Officers yelled at Feng to stop and ran after him.
The Officers discovered paua inside the abandoned bags that were shucked and ready for sale. The pāua were taken from inside the Motupohue Mātaitai Reserve.
“Most New Zealanders do the right thing but when you see bad things happening, we ask that you join us in protecting the fishery by letting us know. Report any suspected illegal activity through the Ministry’s 0800 4 Poacher number (0800 47 62 24)
