Waihi Man Fined $1500 For Excess Pipi

A Waihi man who took more than 10 times his legal daily limit of pipi at Port Waikato was fined $1500 and ordered to pay court costs of $130 when he appeared in the Waihi District Court on March 26.

58-year-old Desmond Arthur Thorburn was caught with 506 pipi at Port Waikato in January. The legal daily limit for pipi in the Auckland Coromandel fisheries management area is 50 per person per day.

When interviewed, Thorburn told the fishery officer that he did not know the daily limit for pipi. However, in sentencing Thorburn, Judge Ingram said he believed everyone in New Zealand knows there are limits on shellfish gathering.

Judge Ingram also acknowledged Thorburn’s early guilty plea, saying he would otherwise have imposed a fine of $3000.

Ministry of Fisheries District Compliance Manager Ian Bright said the Ministry views the taking of large quantities of excess shellfish very seriously. “People who take more than their fair share of fish or shellfish are basically stealing from the other members of their community,”

Mr Bright also urged members of the public when they observe people who they believe are offending to ring the Ministry’s popular 0800 4 Poacher number (0800 4 76224).

“Fishery officers obviously cannot be everywhere on the coast all the time. Ordinary people in communities like Port Waikato and elsewhere are our eyes and ears. The information they confidentially supply helps us protect the resource for future generations,” he said.

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