Wellington, March 19 NZPA - An illegal haul of excess and undersize seafood was described as appalling by a Rotorua District Court judge yesterday.

Nathan Arai Simon, 33, unemployed, was convicted and sentenced to 130 hours community work after pleading guilty to charges of possessing excess paua, possessing undersize paua, possessing excess mussels, and failing to stop for a fishery officer at a checkpoint.

Rangi Cooper, 33, a housewife, was also convicted and sentenced to 100 hours for her part in possessing the haul.

Judge Paul Barber said that he found this kind of offending appalling.

He ordered that the $1000 Nissan vehicle Simon and Cooper were driving, which belonged to Simon's father, be forfeited. But he added the vehicle could be returned to the owner on payment of $75 to the Ministry of Fisheries. The pair were caught after fishery officers set up a checkpoint to inspect seafood being taken from the Maketu area in eastern Bay of Plenty in December last year.

Simon sped off when asked by a fishery officer to pull over, before being stopped by other officers 300 metres along the road.

An inspection of his vehicle revealed a total of 372 green lipped mussels -- well over the legal daily limit of 50 per person.

Ninety-four paua, all undersize, were also found. The limit is 10 per person per day.

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