Dob in a fishery poacher

The public is being asked to dob in poachers as fishery officers step up their summer patrols.

They say more people are out with their rods and nets and that means more are flouting the rules.

Millions of dollars worth of illegal fish are taken from the water each year.

Fishery officer Liz Murray, who is on the beat, knows how bad things can get.

"If people don't stop maxing out the fisheries all the time, there's not going to fish left for families in the future," Murray says.

She is charged with pouncing on unsuspecting fishermen, making sure they know the law.

"I don't reckon they're tough enough on them actually. I reckon they should throw the book at them," says a diver.

Now fisheries officers are hoping locals will help them out by using an 0800 number to dob in anyone taking or selling what they shouldn't.

On the Kaikoura Coast, poachers come mainly for crayfish and paua.

With crayfish you can take up to six per day and males have to measure at least 54 millimetres across the top of the tail. With paua you can take up to 10 per day.

Murray says while most people play by the rules, others are ignorant.

"Sometimes you think you're banging your head against a wall - there's only so much you can do, you can wave all the pamphlets in the world."

And don't be so sure that there really is plenty more fish in the sea.

Source:
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411749/1534789