So much so, that the commercial take will double from 23 to 46 tonnes this season - and the recreational catch will treble from 5 to 18 tonnes - that's after limits were slashed in response to the quake.
Susana Lei'ataua talks to Allen Frazer from MPI's Fisheries New Zealand.
A pile of paua on the beach. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
