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The paua industry says its $50 million a year resource could be destroyed by poaching, because penalties are like "a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket" it says.
The comments came after Fisheries officers said two men were likely to face charges over the seizure of 160 kilograms of illegal paua - one of the largest in recent years.
Paua Industry Council chair Ed Arron says poachers often get community service when they cannot pay fines. He says weak penalties encourage poaching.
He says poachers in Australia are fined ten times the value of their haul and they go to jail if they can't pay.
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