A Porirua man described as a recidivist paua thief has been jailed for 12 months on charges relating to poaching on the west coast of Wellington.
Tulo Tuala was charged with assault with a weapon, fishing while banned and possessing paua with intent to obtain a benefit when he appeared in Porirua District Court.
The offence happened on 15 October last year when Tuala and an associate gathered paua for several hours south of Titahi Bay.
The Ministry of Fisheries says when an officer intervened, Tuala ran away and then threw rocks at the fishery officer.
Tuala and his associate were eventually caught and had 523 paua between them.
The limit for paua gathering is 10 per person a day.
