The defence of claiming that large numbers of paua in your freezer are the result of many previous days' fishing will soon no longer wash, angering recreational fishermen.
"It's a . . . joke," Dunedin fisherman Ted Young said.
Fisheries Minister Phil Heatley made the announcement yesterday, saying for years the accumulation defence had been used by fish thieves, black market operators and those abusing their catch entitlements to avoid prosecution.
"Those days are over. It comes back to the old adage, fish for a feed, not for the freezer," Mr Heatley said.
The Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations 1986 will be changed for every area except Fiordland, from October 1, to restrict the amount of paua a person could have in their possession on any day, with an accumulation limit of 20 paua or the equivalent amount of meat (2.5kg).
"The Government has sought to achieve a balance between restricting paua poaching and black market activity, and not being unreasonable to legitimate recreational fishers," Mr Heatley said.
"Having assessed the submissions we received on the appropriate level, we believe that balance has been achieved."
Paua fishers were advised to carefully label their catch to make sure they met the new rule, noting particularly the date of catch on containers, he said.
The change would be enforced through routine inspections of recreational fishers and by conducting media and public education campaigns.
Recreational fishers would not see any discernable increase in patrols or visits to their homes without suspicion of wrongdoing.
In order to stop the export of large quantities of illegally caught paua, personal export was also restricted to the same numbers.
Mr Young, who is a member of the Recreational Marine and Fishing Advisory Council, said recreational fishermen were being judged on the actions of a small criminal element and the changes were not going to solve the problem.
The ministry's compliance arm knew who went paua fishing every day and they should be targeted, not genuine recreational fishermen.
"It's extremely frustrating. All they are asking for is non-compliance."
Poachers would just make sure their freezers were not where the ministry would look, or was the ministry going to look in every freezer in the country, he said.
"It's a crazy law. We're highly irate."
The "fish for a feed" argument was not practical in Otago, where weather conditions and tides meant regular fishing was not always possible, he said.
Maori customary rights were not affected by the change, nor was Fiordland, as the marine area already had a more restricted accumulation rule.
Paua fishing tips
- Measure before you take.
- Land intact (in the shell).
- Do not keep a supply in the freezer (fish for a feed).
- Keep paua in containers with the date harvested.
- If taking paua out of the country, do not take more than double the daily limit of 10.
