Paua offending was on the menu in Thames District Court on Thursday with four men being prosecuted for illegal gathering on the coast north of Whitianga.

Forty paua hidden in a Pohutukawa tree cost Whitianga man Joe Brown Anderson, 51, his scuba gear and $1,430 in fines and Court costs.

Anderson pleaded guilty to charges of taking too many paua, taking undersized paua and using scuba gear to gather paua, laid by the Ministry for Primary Industries.

MPI Fishery Officers observed Anderson leaving the water at Kuaotunu, north of Whitianga, on 24 November 2014 with a large brown sack.

During an inspection officers found only a sack of kina in his vehicle, but later searched the track Anderson had used - finding a blue catch bag containing forty paua hidden in a Pohutukawa tree.

In a subsequent interview Anderson admitted he had gathered the paua in the blue catch bag, containing 40 in total and only two over the minimum legal size of 125mm.

The recreational limit for paua is 10 per person per day and it is illegal to use Underwater Breathing Apparatus equipment to gather paua.

In another case, three Hamilton men were fined $3,540 for taking 126 undersize paua from Opito Bay, north of Whitianga in January this year.

Shane Dion Jay Cooper 28, Aaron Jake Edmonds 32, and Joshua Tui Cooper 23, all pleaded guilty to taking too many paua and guilty of taking undersize paua. They were each ordered to pay $1180 each in fines and Court costs.

MPI District Compliance Manager Waikato/Bay of Plenty Brendon Mikkelsen says paua is a highly valued resource on the Coromandel and it is very disappointing that some peoples' actions puts its sustainability at risk.

'Paua have limited coastal habitat and the sedentary nature of the paua makes it highly susceptible to over fishing.

'Thanks to the Honorary Fishery Officer network in this district together with local community support MPI is well placed to protect this precious resource.”

People can report any suspicious fishing activity to 0800 4 POACHER (0800-476-224). All calls are confidential.