Ministry for Primary Industries fisheries officers inspect the haul of excess and undersized paua discovered near Okato last week.

Four men have lost their car and will appear in court after being busted with more than 700 Pāua.

​The men were caught with an illegal haul of 736 pāua, 703 of which were undersized, during a joint Ministry for Primary Industries and police two-day checkpoint on State Highway 45, near Okato, coastal Taranaki, last week.

The legal daily limit is 10 pāua per person.

MPI spokesman Jason Howat said the vehicle the alleged offenders were in had been seized and the four men would be facing fisheries charges in court.

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Howat said spring tides traditionally saw large numbers of people taking excessive amounts of shellfish and the South Taranaki coastline was an area at high risk of offending, in part, due to its isolation and vastness.

"Investigations are continuing into this. The people involved will likely face serious fisheries charges.

"This was an extremely disappointing discovery particularly given the fact that the Taranaki region has a lower minimum legal size catch limit (85 millimetres) than the rest of the country. This is because the Taranaki pāua are naturally small and never reach the minimum legal size of 125mm that applies to the rest of the country.

"They also mature and breed at a much smaller size. So they are particularly vulnerable from the outset."

Supplied The haul of undersized and excess paua seized by MPI fisheries officers near Okato last week.

Police breath tested more than 500 drivers during the operation and two are due to appear in the New Plymouth District Court charged with drink-driving.

Howat said the operation also resulted in a set net being seized and a number of people were given infringements and fines totalling $1750 for taking undersized and excess pāua as well excess kina.

The checkpoints were worthwhile for both MPI and police, he said.

"From MPI's point of view, we have a job to protect the sustainability of our local fisheries resource. Abusing our fisheries and taking in excess of the daily limit for any fish or shellfish is never acceptable.

"On top of that, providing and sustaining a black market for those who are taking illegally, will not be tolerated."

Fishery officers returned all of the shellfish to the sea.