A New Plymouth father caught out with too many paua has been ordered to pay more than $800.

A father fined for taking too many paua was intending to use the delicacy to feed his family.

Chris Joseph Hana appeared in the New Plymouth District Court on two charges after being caught out with more than three times the daily limit of paua, some of which were undersized.

Duty lawyer Megan Boyd said her client had taken the paua as a way to feed his family, which included two teenagers.

The court heard how on April 10 Hana was found carrying a pillowcase with 32 paua inside, when he was stopped by a fisheries' officer along the New Plymouth coastal walkway. The daily catch limit is 10.

Of the total catch, 18 measured less than the legal minimum size of 85mm.

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Hana, who is 33, pleaded guilty to the charges when he appeared in court on Wednesday.

At the hearing, Boyd said her client was well aware of the rules around the daily limits and sizing but he needed to put food on the table.

"He was struggling to provide for his children that week," she said.

She said Hana has previously turned to the food bank for help or applied for food grants but accepted on this occasion he made the wrong decision.

Boyd said Hana was due to start work soon, which would help him out financially.

"That will help him to provide more appropriately for his children," she said.

Community magistrate Robyn Paterson told Hana that while no one was stopping him from taking paua, he needed to stick to the rules rather than take more than he was legally allowed.

"If everybody did that, there would be no paua for anybody.

"You're going to put your family in a worse situation if you continue to disobey the regulations," Paterson said.

Hana was convicted and fined $550 plus court costs of $130 for taking more than three times the daily limit.

For the undersized paua, Hana was fined $250 plus $30 in costs.