A 39 year old Welcome Bay man will undertake 200 hours of community service as sentence for catching 98 undersized paua, despite walking past signs detailing catch limits beforehand.
Riki James Miritana was sentenced on Monday at Tauranga District Court by Judge Harding after he and an associate were caught by fishery offices as they walked off the walking track around Mauao.

When checked by the fisheries officers, Miritana had 99 paua and 98 were smaller than the legal minimum size of 125mm.
Each fisher is allowed a maximum of 10 legal sized paua every day.
But fisheries officers say Miriana's paua ranged in size from 77mm to 117mm.
When the two men were caught they told fisheries officers they did not know the bag limits and did not see warning signs.
'We are sick of finding offenders who know where to go to find our seafood, know how to catch it but apparently don't have any idea there might be limits to how much they can take or what size it had to be.”