Fisheries officers have caught what they describe as two notorious paua thieves operating in the Wellington area.
The Ministry of Fisheries says the men were operating with divers in organised criminal groups in the Titahi Bay and Makara beach areas.
Almost 1200 paua, many undersized, were recovered at Titahi Bay and 15kg of paua meat at Makara.
The ministry's district compliance manager, Ross Thurston, says one of the men was already a banned fisher as a result of a past fisheries operation.
