A Porirua man has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison for illegally taking 619 pāua, more than 60 times the legal daily limit, with the intention of selling them for profit.
Ruteru Sufia, 63, was prosecuted by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and sentenced in the Porirua District Court. Fishery officers discovered the massive haul during a search of his home in November 2022. The seizure included 65 whole pāua in one freezer and 554 shucked pāua in another.
“This was a large amount of pāua, more than 30 times the accumulation limit. Also, 45 of the pāua found were undersize,” said Phil Tasker, Fisheries New Zealand’s regional manager of Fisheries Compliance.
While on bail, Sufia was caught again, this time with 48 more pāua, 29 of which were under the legal size. Tasker said the offending was intentional and financially motivated.
“Mr Sufia claimed the pāua in his freezer was for a wedding in Auckland, an explanation the court didn’t believe,” Tasker said. “He wasn’t concerned with legal size and catch limits; he was driven by financial gain from poaching this pāua.”
Sufia’s history of breaking fisheries rules is long, with MPI dealing with more than 35 offences involving him over several years.
In addition to the prison sentence, the court banned him from all forms of fishing for three years.
“We have zero tolerance for poachers, they affect the sustainability of our shared fisheries, and they affect people who legitimately trade in seafood,” said Tasker. “When we find evidence of illegal fishing, you can be assured that we will investigate and, depending on the circumstances, place the matter before the court.”
MPI encourages the public to report any suspicious fishing activity by calling 0800 4 POACHER (0800 47 62 24).