Photo: ODT Files
The quartet were nabbed in a joint operation led by police and the Department of Conservation at the Waiau river mouth last night.
Western Southland Area Response Manager Senior Sergeant Pete Graham said in a statement the men were found fishing outside the regulated hours.
"Their nets were seized, and they will face enforcement by the Department of Conservation.”
Penalties could include having their fishing equipment seized and possibly destroyed, while any whitebait caught would be returned to the river.
The four also faced a $400 fine or court prosecution, he said.
The swoop, which came two weeks before the end of the whitebaiting season, was part of Operation Inaka which also involves Fisheries New Zealand, and Te Rūnaka o Ōraka-Aparima.
