A diver has been caught with 249 pāua in Kaikōura - nearly 50 times the daily limit.
The discovery was made at about 5am Saturday, 11 December while a fishery officer and two honorary fishery officers were patrolling the Kaikōura coastline.
When approached, the man dumped the three suitcases in the water and fled, before being caught. Photo: Supplied / MPI
It comes less than a fortnight after the area's pāua fishery was reopened after a closure was put in place five years ago to help stocks recover from the 2016 quake.
The quake had a major impact as it thrust up the coastline, leaving pāua exposed to dehydration.
"Our people saw this diver - a local man from Blenheim, gathering the pāua and stashing it in three suitcases.
"When they approached him at his vehicle, he backed up the vehicle near the water, dumped the cases in the water before fleeing the scene," Ministry for Primary Industries regional manager fisheries compliance Howard Reid said.
"Police were called in and he was pulled over in his vehicle shortly afterwards. The fishery officers recovered the pāua, which the man admitted gathering."
Reid said he was likely to face prosecution.
"We said when the Kaikōura fishery opened for three months that we had officers potentially out and about at all hours of the day. Our message to people tempted to steal this precious kaimoana is not to test us.
"Everyone has a part to play and we'd like to thank the locals in the area who helped us retrieve the man's illegal catch, which has been retained as evidence. Most people have been following the rules since the Kaikōura pāua fishery opened and we're obviously disappointed by this man's actions."