NEW ZEALAND—Paua poachers will no longer be able to use loopholes in the law to pillage New Zealand waters.

Poaching is threatening the sustainability of paua. Poachers overfish, take undersized paua and use poor harvesting techniques, says the Ministry of Fisheries.

Some stolen paua ends up in restaurants in New Zealand, but most gets smuggled overseas.

Maori consider paua, known in other countries as abalone, as a taonga or treasure and value it as both a food source and to emboss woodwork.

New Zealand has strict quotas for commercial and recreational fishing, and there is a special system for customary Maori use. But for years, illegal poachers and black market operators have been able to dodge prosecution by using the “accumulation” defence.

“Claims that large numbers of paua were the result of many days’ fishing will no longer work. Thieves, black market operators and those abusing their catch entitlements will no longer be able to avoid prosecution,” said Ministry of Fisheries Senior Communications Advisor, Angus McLeod.

Under the new regulations that will come into effect on Oct. 1, recreational fishers will not be able to take more than 10 paua per species per day per person and they must meet the legal size.

By laying waste to fishing grounds poachers are depriving the commercial industry and the New Zealand economy of millions of dollars in domestic and export earnings.

Mr. McLeod said paua was not the only seafood that is being poached, but it was especially “vulnerable.”

Last year, Operation PAID (paua and illegal divers), a two year undercover operation carried out by by over 130 fisheries officers and 70 police officers eventuated in the confiscation of nine tons of greenweight paua (36,000 paua). The haul had a wholesale value of around $500,000.

“Organised crime is linked to paua poaching,” said Mr. McLeod. The successful outcome of the Operation PAID was only made possible by heavily resourced undercover work.

As of the end of August, sentences had been handed down to 31 of the 53 people who were being prosecuted.

The bust “... identifies and exposes them for what they are—indiscriminate thieves who don’t care what their actions are doing to the environment or their communities,” said Mr. McLeod.

Paua is highly sought after in parts of Asia and can fetch up to $500-$1000 a kilogram in its dried form in Hong Kong and Taiwan said the Ministry of Fisheries in a press release.

Policing paua is difficult as it is often found in remote areas—isolated bays or remote, rocky coastlines, with difficult access and few houses.

The sale price, the coastal habitat they are found in, their compact size and ease of storage (freezing or drying) has made them a target for poaching.

Local fisheries would be wiped out if poaching on the scale identified by Operation PAID and previous busts were not curbed, says the Ministry of Fisheries last year.

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