Fisheries officers in the Otago region have encountered mainly well-behaved fishermen over a busy summer period, with only half a dozen infringement notices issued over the period.
Dunedin fisheries officer John Kennedy said the worst incident officers encountered was when a group of recreational fishermen at Karitane declined to let an honorary fisheries officer inspect their catch.
Once the police arrived, however, the men co-operated and allowed the officer to carry on with his task.
Because the Ministry of Fisheries investigation of the matter was ongoing Mr Kennedy declined to give any further details of the incident.
Although it had been a busy summer so far on the Otago coast, people had been "pretty well behaved".
While regional figures for 2008 were not available, fishery officers across the country last year seized millions of dollars worth of boats, vehicles and fishing gear, the Ministry of Fisheries said this week.
Chief executive Wayne McNee congratulated officers for their hard work during the year, when they carried out about 25,000 recreational fisher inspections and 2000 inspections of commercial fishers, licensed fish receivers and commercial dealers.
The officers also visited schools, community groups and boat shows to talk about fishing rules, which Mr McNee said had led to increased support and increased levels of voluntary compliance.
Ministry of Fisheries national compliance manager Andrew Coleman said poaching continued to be one of the ministry's biggest targets.
"Organised gangs stealing paua and crayfish are of major concern. These species are very accessible . . . and they fetch high prices on the black market.
"But the success of our fisheries compliance operations has shown that anyone involved in illegal fishing will be caught and severely punished."
The public can access all fishing rules by visiting fish.govt.nz or by calling or visiting their local Ministry of Fisheries office.
