Poachers caught with over 10,500 pipi (cockles) back in April, near the mouth of the Ashley River, north of Christchurch have been fined $8000 and lost two vehicles.
Christchurch residents, Baoyi Mao, Xue Jin Mao, Wencoi Mao and Xihuo Lu, pleaded guilty in the Christchurch District Court yesterday to a charge of possessing more than three times the daily recreational limit of cockles.
The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) were tipped off on April 20 that a group was taking a very large amount of shellfish near the mouth of the Ashley River.
After about three hours gathering shellfish, MPI staff stopped the group and found 4,767 pipi in one vehicle, and 5,781 in the other - a total of 10,548 in nine sacks.
A spokesperson from Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga said, "Our whānau rely on those tuaki (cockles) and the other mahinga kai of our takiwā (area) and we are particularly concerned that people still think it's okay to take so many. These tuaki beds have been used by our whānau for centuries. We have managed them so that they will be there for future generations."
The iwi are also grateful to Waikuku locals for keeping an eye out and alerting officials so quickly.
MPI District Compliance Manager Canterbury/Westland Peter Hyde said it is definitely the largest haul of cockles any of his staff can remember being taken from the Canterbury area, and may well be the largest illegal haul in New Zealand for many years.
Hyde said it's a fisher's obligation to know the rules for the area they are fishing. All relevant information can be found on the MPI website.