Paua populations in the Marlborough region have been decimated by overfishing after a ban was placed along the Kaikoura coast, following the November 2016 earthquake.
The increase in diving in the top of the South Island prompted MPI to reduce the recreational paua limit to five per person on December 12.
But a local diver and kaitiaki is warning that unless commercial quotas are also dramatically reduced, the paua population might not survive.
Meriana Johnsen reports.
