A Richmond man has been sentenced to 11 months in prison after being found guilty of paua poaching. He had more than 10 times the daily limit of paua, most of which were undersized.
On 3 July last year, after an anonymous tip-off, fisheries officers caught Day Van Tang, a seasonal horticultural worker, as he left a diving spot on the Kaikoura coast and was driving back to Nelson with his brother.
In his car, officers found two sacks containing 139 paua: nine of which were already shucked and 115 were undersized.
The national paua limit is 10 per person per day.
In 2010, Mr Tang was convicted on 10 charges of selling, taking or possessing paua and was sentenced to prison for 12 months.
At Nelson District Court on Wednesday, Tang was also banned from fishing for three years. His vehicle and all his fishing gear was forfeited to the Crown.
