Pricey Pleasure & Poaching Abalone to Escape Poverty

Former poacher and long-time community rights activist ANDREW JOHNSTON recalls some of the more startling moments in his poaching career. One was a bizarre request from a Chinese client in search of sexual pleasure.

Known as Paua to New Zealanders, Ormeau to the French, Takabushi to the Japanese, Loco to the Chileans and Perlemoen in South Africa, this King of seafood is spoken as one of the finest God has created. Nutritionists maintain that abalone is high in protein and low in fat, thus a marvellous food for sustaining stamina. It is also considered a source of selenium (mood enhancer) and magnesium (the production of sexual hormones).