Axmag july 2017

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TCDC neglecting Coromandel Town boat facilities Perhaps the TCDC should go back and read their own disability strategy and bylaws.

As it stands now wheelchair travelers cannot travel to and from Coromandel Town on the ferry. The ferry is wheelchair compliant, but Hannaford’s wharf has no ramp facilities to load or unload the wheelchairs.

The Council has spent a lot of money improving the wharf for the Auckland Ferry services but is neglecting the local businesses that use the wharf to operate from on a daily basis, but there are no facilities and very limited parking.

“You don’t put the prices up before you provide the facilities.”

Access ramp at Hannaford’s wharf

Around the Coromandel Peninsula boaties and fishermen launching their boats have excellent launching facilities at almost every boat ramp from Thames around the peninsula to Whangamata.

All except Coromandel Town where locals and visitors to this very rich coastal community, that rely heavily on its visitor population for their livelihoods including the many visiting anglers, are being punished by the Thames Coromandel District Council as they ignore pleas for help in making improvements to the existing poor state of the boat ramps and facilities.

Meanwhile the TCDC are providing improvements to boat ramp facilities in Whitianga and Tairua to the tune of around a million

SEE INSIDE Page 8-

DoC disregarding the Law

Page 11 - Mussel Farmers a necessary evil?

Page 13 - Biased TV programme should be banned

or more dollars. So why is Coromandel Town being neglected?

Council is also looking at increasing fees 100% for the charter operators which looks like they are trying to force the charter operators to move elsewhere. The original fees were absorbed by the charter operators however now with this increase the charters operators will be forced to put up their pricing.

All of the charter boat operators are fighting these increases on behalf of all the anglers and it would be good if they could have the support from all anglers that would be willing to offer their support. After all without the excellent service they provide many of us wouldn’t be able to catch a feed if the fees go up.

Currently charter operators share the Hannaford’s Wharf facility which is also in a dreadful state, with the Auckland ferry service and approximately 170 other private mooring holders.

The wharf offers no launching ramp and is being hogged by the Auckland ferry which offers very limited weekly service to Coromandel Town.

Last year there was 55,000 foot

Page 14 - NZ First cannot be trusted use your party vote wisely Page 15 - Seafood Industry attacks Rec Fishing catch Page 18 - Lake Taupo Under Threat Wheelchair access deplorable

traffic which used the Hannaford’s wharf including charter boats and ferry. The ferry had about 12000 and the charter boats around 21,000 and that is not counting the private mooring holders and other casual users.

No other wharf or boat ramp facilities in the TCDC have to pay fees per passenger – it only occurs in the Coromandel Town, while the commercial wharf fees in most case are double in Coromandel Town harbour.

The metal access road is in very poor condition and is limited to one way traffic and can be a dust problem to local bach owners. Currently the state of parking spaces is very poor with a large area set aside for the ferry service.

The bank under where the vehicle park has been undermined by the tide wash and looks like it could collapse at any time. The concrete footpath leading to the ramp is cracked and broken, very steep, making it very difficult for the elderly, wheelchair users, mothers with prams and pushchairs, and appears to be moving. At a glance the whole facility is not compliant.

It appears that the Council are attempting to force the charter boat operators to go elsewhere to use other severely inadequate facilities which make it almost impossible for these guys to provide the services that visiting anglers want.

It would also seem that as well as increased fees the charter operators will have to use off-site parking and provide a bus service for anglers. This will also include a fee forcing fishers to be transported by bus from the Mussel Kitchen where they will be forced to park their cars.

This suggested activity is so archaic and pathetic it would almost ensure that these businesses would suffer.

There are five boat ramps around Coromandel Town, one at Long Bay, one at Wyuna Bay, a dual access ramp at Furey’s Creek and a ramp at Te Kouma.

All these ramps were basically built for bach owners and locals to use but are only usable at high tide except the Te Kouma ramp which has also limited parking and launching fees apply.

No-one is complaining about the launching fees and are happy to pay but the facilities are dreadful when you consider the revenue that local boaties inject into the town, through accommodation, fuel, food and other services.

The Coromandel Town wharf gives no boat launching facilities and is not suitable for all tide charter operations and again has a parking problem with limited facilities. Charter operators currently have to wait for a full tide to travel from Te Kouma anchorage to refuel, quite a costly exercise.

It well past time that the Council stepped up and provided the service that ratepayers and visitors to the town want and are paying their rates for.

They are not happy paying for facilities that are substandard and are not what travelers and overseas tourists would expect from a well-advertised tourist destination.

Sugarloaf boat ramp congestion

Coromandel Town wharf

Time to check your whitebait net it’s nearly whitebait season

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Fishing and Outdoors PO Box 10580, Te Rapa, Hamilton 3240 Ph 07 8551833 Editor Graham Carter mail@fishingoutdoors.co.nz 021 02600437 Advertising Sales Tracy Fairey Bay of Plenty 027 884 7156 Graphics: Astro Creative Photography: Sandi Tuan Regular Writers: Graham Carter James Speedy Ben Hope Frank Henry Dick Featherstone Tony Orman Rhys Smith John McNab Fishing and Outdoors is published

by Ashwood Grove Ltd. All editorial copy and photographs are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. Opinions or comments expressed within this publication are not necessarily those of the contributors, editor, staff and management or directors of Ashwood Grove Ltd. ISSN 1179-5034 Unsolicitored editorial, letters, photographs will only be returned if you include a stamped, self addressed envelope. www.fishingoutdoors.org Visit us on Facebook www.facebook.com/Fishingoutdoors Copyright © 2011 Fishing Outdoors Newspaper, All Rights Reserved.

ugarloaf boat ramps with limited parking

Having known about this for a number of years they have done little to nothing to address the issue.

Council say that areas with reasonable access to deep water are often critically valuable to in-shore ecosystem, which means we are highly likely to fail the environmental and local stakeholder requirements for a Coastal Permit to occupy the foreshore and seabed.

Compounding the issue is sediment within the Harbour that is often high in contaminants from naturally occurring arsenic - to mercury resulting from historic mining activities - so dredging any material is difficult to get consent for, as well as finding places to store the sedimentation once dredged.

Yet there is a deep water dumping area off Cuvier Island used by the Auckland Regional Council.

Dredging has occurred over past the Coromandel-Colville Com- years around Jack’s Point/Furey’s munity Board area, a user-pays Creek to allow for more use at model for commercial opera- this facility which has failed to tions is in place to recover a por- work but they keep doing it. Why? tion of the cost of developing Surely Council could have put and maintaining these facilities, this money into establishing a yet this will never cover the costs. proper pier/wharf/parking faThe TCDC say that they recognise cility around the Sugarloaf site both recreational fishing and aq- with a reclaimed area for vehiuaculture are important economic cle parking suitable for all users drivers for Coromandel Town The TCDC could save themselves and the greater Coromandel, and a lot of grief and support Corothey’re currently developing a mandel Town with good leaderstrategy to address supply and de- ship and just get on with the job. mand of suitable harbour facilities. Paula Bennett has recently anBut their strategy is ludicrous. Their nounced a Tourism Infrastructure bully boy tactics and poor plan- Fund for the new $100 million ning will not only damage Coro- Tourism Infrastructure Fund to mandel Towns reputation it could help local communities respond well stop visitors and fishers com- to increased visitor numbers. ing there as a tourist destination. “It’s important that we are supHannaford’s wharf was designed by porting those communities most locals for local use. It is subject to in need of assistance and funding severe weather and its location will facilities so they really benefit from ensure this is an ongoing problem. the growth we’re seeing in the The challenge they are dealing tourism sector,” Mrs Bennett says. with around the Jacks Point/Furey’s The benefits to Coromandel Creek boat ramps is decades of Town would far outweigh the sedimentation, which is causing a costs in the long run and make lack of deep water close to Mean better use of tax payer funding.

High Water Springs (shoreline).

TCDC in damage control Like most back peddling politicians the TCDC appears to be no different.

They all harp on about what money they spent on the upgrade which they had already put aside in their ten year plan in 2013 to the tune of $275,000 and the books show they keep wasting funds on pointless dredging operations which don’t work.

It would appear that the whole issue comes down to bad planning and poor performance by the TCDC, with poor consultation and brainless ideas which will ultimately affect local Coromandel businesses.

It is common knowledge that recreational fishing is a huge growing industry and if the TCDC doesn’t keep up with this trend and pull its socks up it could be the cause of significant damage to the Coromandel Town’s economy by driving boaties and fishers elsewhere.

The TCDC needs to step and shoulder responsibility by taking charge of any improvements that are necessary and stop blaming the local community board.

The TCDC says that with only approximately 2,500 ratepayers in

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KEEP THIS WEEKEND FREE The Milford Cruising Club will be holding their annual fishing competition on the 19th August.

A pre-competition briefing is to take place on the Friday 18th from 6.30 pm at the MCC Clubrooms.

There will be Bar food and drinks available on the Friday Night.

The competition will start at 6 o’clock am and finish at 4 o’clock pm.

Fish must be at the weighin no later than 6 o’clock pm.

The Weigh In and Prize Giving will be held in the MCC Clubrooms (Milford Reserve) from 4.30 pm with a Meal

and a Cash Bar on Saturday Night.

The MCC would once again would like to thank all our sponsors, without them this fantastic day wouldn’t be possible NAI Harcourts, Marineworkz, UFO Cookers, Safe Installers Ltd, Fishing & Outdoors newspaper, Property Minders & Management Ltd, Seabound Charters, Hunts Sports Store.

TICKETS WILL GO ON SALE SOON Lots of prizes & spot prizes to give away – and a meal is included in the ticket price.

Milford Cruising Club and NAI Harcourts

Annual Fishing Competition AUGUST 19th Pre competition briefing Friday 18th from 6.30pm @ MCC Clubrooms Bar-food & Drinks available Friday Night Weigh In – Prize Giving – Meal & Cash Bar on Saturday Night @ MCC Clubrooms (Milford Reserve)

TICKETS TO GO ON SALE SOON Lots of prizes & spot prizes to give away Meal included in ticket price Contact: fishing@milfordcruising.co.nz

BRAG PAGE Send your photos into mail@fishingoutdoors.co.nz Sharron Shaw, 10.399 Snapper>

<Fred Christensen, 20.530 Kingfish

<Fraser Quay, 5kg snapper

Failed fisheries management costing NZ economy Claims that New Zealand has a “world leading” system for sustainably managing fishing have been scientifically debunked, by an international team of fisheries experts, in a paper published in a top United States scientific journal.

The strongly worded critique was published in the official journal of the prestigious United States-based National Academy of Sciences, a member organisation of top scientists.

Critical gaps in fisheries data and problems with the way catch and effort data is collected means there is a lack of scientific data available to run the Quota Management System (QMS) and this is compounded by “industry capture” of the regulator, the MPI. “Claims by MPI and the fishing industry about the excellence of the QMS simply do not match the facts,” says researcher Dr Glenn Simmons, from the New Zealand Asia Institute at the University of Auckland Business School.

“The majority of NZ fish species are managed on the basis of fishing industry information only, such as self-reported catch and effort data, without any independent science.

Many of these fisheries are doing very poorly and causing serious environmental impacts. New Zealand is failing miserably at looking after the majority of our fish stocks for the public,” says Professor Liz Slooten, from Otago University.

The paper’s 12 authors are researchers from the Universities of Auckland, Otago, Waikato, British Columbia, Oxford and Botswana International University of Science and Technology, and a fisheries consultant with decades of government and industry experience.

Professor Steve Dawson, Head of the Department of Marine Science at the University of Otago, says the “world leading” spin on the QMS is “so often repeated that it is now earnestly believed by the majority.

While the notion that New Zealand

leads the world might promote a healthy spirit of innovation, it can also degenerate into smugness and complacency – such complacency is rife in MPI and among politicians.”

Problems outlined in the authors paper include: -Fisheries data shows management of most New Zealand fish species relies entirely on information provided by the fishing industry, such as self-reported catches and fishing effort. Failure to collect independent scientific data is now recognised as one of the reasons why Canadian northern cod stocks were consistently over-estimated until they collapsed in 1992 -Three quarters of our fish stocks have no formal stock assessment at all. For example, there are no estimates of population size for warehou, either now or before fishing started. This is one of the fisheries that causes deaths of the critically endangered Maui dolphin found only in New Zealand -Funding for stock assessment is about 45 percent of levels in the early 1990s; the number of QMS stocks has increased 3.5 times in that period -Data on ecological impacts are inadequate for most fisheries, with observers on only 8.4 percent of fishing boats, despite repeated recommendations for government officials to increase coverage -A groundbreaking 2016 study led by Dr Simmons showed that widespread illegal dumping and misreporting have distorted catch statistics for decades -An independent review of the MPI’s handling of illegal fish dumping and dolphin by-catch “demonstrated industry capture of the regulator” says Professor Dawson, “The QMS has resulted in the majority of fishing quota being bought by a small number of companies and wealthy individuals. This has been bad for small-scale fishers, bad for managing fish populations and bad for protecting the marine environment.”

The paper rejects claims published in the same journal by University of Washington scientists that the QMS is a success. The authors argue these claims are based on an “untrustworthy” opinon survey that focused only on management of high value, high volume species and interviewed only seven people, five of whom worked for the fishing industry, MPI or NIWA (who do stock assessments) and two of whom were anonymous.

In the paper, the experts call for “ecosystem-based” and cultural objectives to be valued, along with maintaining fish populations.

Dr Fiona McCormack from Waikato University says, “for Maori, the ’business of fishing’ now largely means trading quota instead of their traditional role of guardianship over fisheries. Guardianship over the environment is very different from guardianship over quota rights”.

Dr Simmons: “New Zealand now needs to focus on how to provide truly sustainable fisheries management, maximising long-term profits and minimising environmental impacts. We could provide incentives for fishers to use more selective, sustainable fishing methods. We could ensure that all fish is brought back to shore, as it is in Iceland, rather than some of it being dumped at sea, which would drive real innovation in unexpected ways.”

Associated articles: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA): Evidence of bias in assessment of fisheries management impacts.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) Reply to Slooten et al.: Viewing fisheries management challenges in a global context.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA).

Fisheries management impacts on target species status.

Sea Around Us - New Zealand fishery catch estimated at 2.7 times more than reported: study

Blue Ocean Charters Fishing Report BoP

by Tane Braithwaite, Skipper Saturday to Sunday 3rd - 4th June On Saturday we had an overnight trip booked to get out for some deep sea fishing. The Metservice weather report showed unfavourable conditions so I checked out a few other weather sites which gave a slightly different and more positive interpretation.

After discussion with the clients, everyone was keen to give it a go which gave me the excuse to get on out there!

Saturday avo on the way to Mayor Island, we arrived at a reef for some bottom bashing. We soon loaded up a hefty sized chilly bin full of snapper ranging in size up to 53cm and some golden snapper as well. We were then off to the Island to catch some bait and a quick nap. The weather was SSW which would have forced us around the marine reserve side of the island but we wanted to keep fishing so decided to stay where we were, sitting out in a bit of chop, while the crew loaded up on mackerel and squid. At 4.30 am I started up the boat and by this time the sea was becoming calm. We headed out to the deep drop-offs to try our luck for bass, hapuka, bluenose and gemfish. We did countless drops over the course of the next several hours, starting ahead of the fish sign to dropping directly on top of them, as the weather completely glassed out. Our efforts brought up a mixed bag consisting mostly of gemfish which smoke beautifully, bluenose, bass, hoki, and frost fish. A few of the crew were very successful jigging and catching more fish with this method than anyone else.

It was time to head back in so on the way home we hit up a few 150m pinnacles catching tarakihi, Japanese gurnard, large golden snapper and a few more reef species.

Monday 5th June Being a public holiday, we had a crew booked on a public reef fishing trip from 8.00 am - 4.00 pm. Everyone was there early so we threw off the ropes and headed out in perfect weather conditions. We started fishing just past Pudney Rocks in around 70 metres.

I intended to go for a spot I had found previously, but came across a rock loaded with fish sign. We picked up many snapper and golden snapper. Several tarakihi came aboard which is a good sign that they are coming back in to the shallower depths. I spent much of the time using micro jigs bagging out on snapper and a few other species while a lot of the crew where using fresh mackerel, squid and bonito. We stopped in a spot 45 metres deep on the way back in and caught many species but most notably we caught several more tarakihi.

We can fit pontoons to your dinghy Inflatable and aluminium options available

Before and after removable inflatable pontoons shown above Repairs and Maintenance on all makes and models

Manuka Engineering Ltd Te Puke

Ph 0800 766866 www.stediuboats.co.nz

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Thirty Limited Edition Stabicraft Boats They will take tradeins of many other makes and models and have a good range of second hand stock.

Kev and Ian’s expanded the building at 18 Mahia Road a few years ago to provide a one- stop shop marine service centre for Auckland boaties and fishers.

The workshop does, repowers, trade-ins, engine parts with a good chandlery range.

Stabicraft Marine Ltd celebrates 30 years this year since the first boat was built along with a 29 year partnership with Kev and Ian’s Marine.

ism and Trade NZ as a mark of quality, excellence and environmental responsibility, all the features Stabicraft has a reputation of upholding.

There is a lot of history for the two companies that have been involved with the Marine industry for so long.

The new century saw more changes to the Marine Industry and in 2001 Stabicraft adopted the CPC compliance plate on all Stabicraft. This is an independent quality control standard approved by the coastguard and MIA (Marine Industry Association). Not all boat manufacturers use this standard despite being recognised as a safety feature.

In 1987 in a backstreet workshop in Invercargill where Paul Adams and Bruce Dickens decided to build their first rigid hull aluminium chambered boat – a Stabicraft 3.5 dinghy called ‘Ally Duck’.

Later that year the operation was moved to the Bluff Highway, where it has remained ever since, growing in both their building premises size, staff numbers and the amount of boats able to be produced each year.

In 1994 Stabicraft first exported to Australia. Exporting now extends to UK, USA and many Islands in Australasia making Stabicraft a worldwide known brand. 1997 saw Stabicraft attain the New Zealand way Brand accreditation. The brand accreditation was developed in 1993 as a joint initiative of NZ Tour-

In 2007 recognition for services to business Paul Adams (Managing Director) was named a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit Kev and Ian’s Marine started in Manurewa as a Marine Servicing company, in November 1988.

On the 19 June 1991 their first new Stabicraft boat arrived to make them a Stabicraft dealer.

This has continued for the last 26 years, with Stabicraft being the only new boat brand stocked.

They are open from 8am – 5pm weekdays and 8.30 – 1.30pm Saturday’s.

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Dolphin deaths inconclusive The MPI believes that illegal recreational set-netting is to blame for the death of a Hector’s dolphin on the West Coast earlier this year.

But this finger pointing exercise is another typical manner which the MPI shows that they are incompetent.

An investigation involving MPI and the Department of Conservation (DOC) was launched after a member of the public found the dead dolphin on Blaketown beach in Greymouth in March.

In spite of a thorough 3-monthlong investigation the MPI can only guess after reviewing the pathology report and examining data and environmental considerations that this animal’s death was very likely to have been the result of the dolphin becoming fatally entan-

You can buy frozen bait, berley and salt ice along with any last minute accessories before you head out on the water. If you are not sure of some items on your boat or you are looking at buying a boat whether it’s your first boat or your tenth, Kev and Ian’s Marine are able to assist you with your purchase decision. The TCDC have put out a document purporting changes but To celebrate 30 years of Stabi- have failed to take any notice craft Marine Ltd, Stabicraft have of the concerns of recreational released the 30/30 Promotion. fishers and charter operators.

This is 30 Limited Edition Stabicraft Their political statement doesn’t adBoats. Just ten of each across Aus- dress the issues other than to say they tralia and New Zealand. Each boat are working with interested parties. has 30th anniversary graphics and However everybody outside individually numbered. The models of the council is in disagreeare the 2050 Supercab, 1850 Com- ment with the Project Manposite Fisher and 1850 Alloy Fisher. agers who are dictatorial.

They don’t appear to be getting the The price of each is an absolute message that their absurd proposbargain (see our advert) with over als are affecting rec anglers that use $12,000 of free accessories. Kev the services provided by charter and Ian’s Marine has managed to operators and that their bloodysecure one of each. To discuss your mindedness will drive anglers elserequirements in a boat and to book where which will ultimately affect a sea trial on any of our range call the economy of Coromandel Town. today. Kev and Ian’s Ph 267 4999 It is the rec anglers and other

gled in an illegal set-net used by commercial or recreational fishers.

Only one commercial vessel has used set-nets close to the area and it had not been fishing there at the time the dolphin died. However this doesn’t mean commercial weren’t involved it just means they haven’t linked the dolphin death to any commercial fishing activity at the time.

Commercial fishers know the penalties and are just as likely to lie and cover their tracks as anyone.

The pathology report shows a knife had been used to remove the dolphin’s tail after death which.

The type of deep and narrow lacerations on its body are consistent with monofilament net which is used by recreational fishers rather than trawl mesh which

is used by commercial fishers.

However no mention is made of the many commercial set-netters for flounder, when it is common knowledge that cutting off of the tail is a commercial trick to sink the dolphin.

There are anecdotal reports that suggest fishers in some countries open up the abdominal cavity of mammal bycatch in an attempt to make them sink when they return them overboard. An action predominantly carried out by commercial fishers trying to hide any evidence. This may well have been the case here. That particular action is also an offence, even after death.

Despite the fact MPI spoke to a large number of people, they have not been able to identify the individual or individuals responsible.

‘Park and Ride’ idiocrasy culprit needs keel hauling wharf users who flock to Coromandel Town to the tune of 21,000 versus 12,000 visitors by ferry.

What these bureaucrats don’t understand is that they are giving the ferry service priority parking over the Hannaford’s wharf for a bus that visits 2 to 3 times a week and takes up a fenced off bus park which impedes visiting anglers vehicles, who then get prosecuted and inconvenienced when they provide more for to the Towns economy.

Whoever dreamed up this ‘Park and Ride’ idiocrasy needs keel hauling.

Have Council considered consultation with rec anglers? Then they would find out how brassed off rec anglers are and that it is seriously likely this proposal is likely to affect the charter operators and

other Coromandel Town services when they take their business to other centres. Or is this the hidden agenda of the Project Managers?

You only have to see the large number of boat trailers at Waikawau on any weekend to understand the significance of angling pressure on the Coast, and this hasn’t changed much over the last five years. So why has it taken the Council so long to act?

The Council state they are working to improve district-wide demand – really, who are they kidding.

All of the current ramps are hardly used as the facilities are so inaccessible and has been for a long time. The Council wastes money on dredging Jacks Point and the following week it is silted up again.

Phone: 09 267 4999 Email: fishing@kev.co.nz 18 Mahia Road, Manurewa Auckland

www.kev.co.nz

Day trips are 8 hours (min), Free ice , Free tea and coffee, good toilet, barbeque available .

BYO bait - Rod hire $10 per rod Skipper is ex commercial fisherman with 40 years local knowledge

Phone 022 3002201 - 07 8668172 chesnutt1957@slingshot.co.nz coromandelcharterfishing.co.nz

6

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Letter to editor 1080 expanded to Hawaii Aloha!

This letter by NZ outdoorsman and writer Tony Orman addresses the poison situation in New Zealand, and Hawaii residents should be made aware that NZ government is now trying to expand its poison market and profit making into Hawaii.

I encourage you to read the many many posts on the 1080 Eyewitness Facebook Page.

You should also be aware that a recent poll in NZ showed that 61 % of New Zealanders are against this poison travesty.

Recently it seems that the areas in NZ being poisoned are growing in size. Many think it is an attempt to ramp up poison distribution due to fear that the industry will be soon shut down and the poisoners will not be able to profit from their huge stocks of poison.

The media needs to start investigating this industry independently, because it seems that this could blow up into one of the biggest scandals in NZ history!

Louie The Fish

Bureaucrats were incensed

Dear Sir I read with interest Council of Outdoor Recreation Council co-chairman Bill Benfield’s letter (22 May) taking Alan Emerson to task for his tirade at trout as the “aggressive, invasive, imported” species.

Mr Benfield was quite correct. He is not the first to draw attention to the phobia of a hatred of introduced wildlife. Back in 1958 Dr William Graf, a Us Professor of Zoology, came to New Zealand to study the New Zealand deer situation as Hawaii was considering introducing deer for sport. Dr Graf viewed the New Zealand scene often in the company of departmental officers.

In his report following the tour, Dr Graf wrote there existed in New Zealand “an anti-exotic animal phobia to an extent that much of the public as well as many government officials do not and cannot view the situation in an objective perspective.”

The bureaucrats were incensed.

A. L Poole the director general of forestry delivered a conference paper in which he attacked Dr Graf’s credibility. Therein lies the problem - bureaucrats. Bureaucrats set up jobs and empires around a reason, whether it is factual and realistic or mythical and fantasy. It matters not a jot which one.

Take possums as an example. They are accused by extreme green groups and bureaucrats of defoliating forests. But this is what senior Landcare Research scientist Graham Nugent told a 1994 DOC “Possum Pest” workshop that DoC’s 70 million possum figure was nonsense and even that number would browse just 7 percent of the new foliage produced each night by NZ’s vegetation. Possums have been blamed for Tb spread. But just last year NZ First MP Richard Prosser quizzed Minister Nathan Guy in Parliament.

Guy replied that of 124,000 possums autopsied over the last 10 years, only 54 had bovine TB - an infection rate of 0.04%. Furthermore Richard Prosser’s questions prised from Minister Guy that of 9830 possums autopsied in the last 12 months, none had Tb - zero percent.

The international guideline for Tb infection is 0.2 per cent. Conservationist Bill Benfield in “At War with Nature” points out NZ has been Tb-free for probably 10 years.

Meanwhile DoC’s understanding of wildlife is either woefully ignorant or deceitfully contrived to keep vote allocation money rolling in and empires intact.

The realities are:• Possum populations are not consistent. Some gullies may have high

possum numbers, other gullies because of aspect, low or nil numbers.

• Some areas perhaps due to soil nutrition, hold low numbers of any wild animals.

We live in a 21st century ecosystem.

The argument for biodiversity and turning the clock back to 500 AD has been distorted by eco-fundamentalists to be akin to a flat earth argument. Bio-diversity can err into selective judgement and hypocrisy. As Bill Benfield pointed out, the pastoral industry is founded on introduced species - sheep, cattle, deer which graze on introduced pasture species.

Tony Orman Marlborough

Drinking

water

in

NZ

Dear Sir Every ounce of drinking water in NZ comes originally from streams that flow thru native forests now bombarded by tons upon money making tons of 1080 poison, and no amount of filtration or treatment can remove that poison from our drinking water. It does not break down (a big DoC lie!), and only accumulates in lakes and reservoirs!

How long will NZ media and TVNZ be afraid to speak out and investigate this travesty?

I clicked on a link that Michelle Read shared when someone asked what symptoms of 1080 poison were.

Looking through the information I came across this piece concerning Bioterrorism in America and how worried they are about 1080 getting onto their water supplies.

Now why would they worry if it’s as harmless in water as the powers to be in NZ tell us it is.

Here’s the piece below that I copied Repeated low dose exposures can be fatal [10] “A fairly small number of large drinking water and wastewater utilities located primarily in urban areas (about 15% of the system) provide water services to more than 75% of the U.S. population.

Arguably, these systems represent the greatest targets of opportunity for terrorist attacks...” [11]. Introduction of Compound 1080 could take place through fire hydrants, check valves or pump stations.

Louie De Nolfo Turangi

Fishing will be first off the table

www.farmandtrail.com

Dear Sir This year NZ’ers will be in for a nasty shock as politicians’ trade away large bundles of election promises in order to get a higher position up the political ladder.

Some of the parties put policies in their manifesto as vote gatherers know full well they will be deliberately traded away. These parties know where on their priority list your local issue is and will make you believe it is the first thing on the agenda if you vote for them.

Winston Peters the only true statesmen left in Parliament today is a master at making a grand entrance at a hall with two hundred people in it and be able to promise everybody in the hall a solution to their problems through a well-choreographed speech including everything from new roads to a wage rise for the paperboy and yet if you look closely at Mr Peters achievements in decades as a MP and all can be summed up in two words Gold Card.

All those speeches with all those promises from the political magician who made his followers feel like he was the only politician who understood them. All for nothing, all those wasted votes that could have gone to Labour or Green and that would have stopped the rampant run of the Nat’s who drove the country John Keys way as he would a board room of a financial institution rather than a service provider of a welfare state.

Our natural assets and way of life have been used and abused to the point of destruction by

this National government as it 4. DOC and Government employpushes it primary industry goals. ees who were exposed to 1080 The commercial fishers have deci- and disregarded health and safemated the fish stocks and will- ty regulations and their families. fully without the blink of an eye or This data must be presenta lost night’s sleep exported the ed on the level not less than: recreational fish from under the Handbook for Preparing Report on Carnoses of the NZ holiday makers. cinogens Monographs, July 20, 2015, The pollution and overuse of our US Department of Health and Human fresh water as well as the selling of Services, Endorsed by the US Congress. our land with new offshore investors The absence of epidemiology report on snapping up 422.000 hectares alone 1080 in any submission on this matter this year with the migratory putting to the Parliament is explicit attempt to up keep out signs on their gates. mislead Parliament as well as New ZeaThe point is the Nat’s will continue to land people (Prove me wrong, please). promote corporate policies because For instance, there are 50 reports on that’s where their money comes from water fluoridation which is well reand a large majority of their votes search and well-controlled application. will come from the new immigrants. Please note that fluoride conIf New Zealand First goes tent had been deemed safe beinto coalition with the Nat’s fore fluoridation started also. then very little will change. It makes DoC’s bullshit regarding a The fishing will be first off the ta- safe content of deposited 1080 absoble because Peter Goodfellow lutely irrelevant as well as their propapresident of the national party ganda trick with 1080 in a cup of tea. and major shareholder of San- To put it short DoC and their budford won’t allow any change. dies make following outrages All that NZF will be allowed to do statements to stupefy New Zeais small reductions in immigra- land people and lawmakers: tion, land sales and a bit less 1080. 1. Results of Statistically insigMy pick is Winston may be prime- nificant tests on animals justify an minister more so because Bill Eng- absence of any assessment applilish doesn’t want to be and the cable medical data pertinent to inrest of NZF policy will be traded voluntary experiments on humans by away for the top job for Winston. exposure to 1080 for the last 50 years.

If you vote for NZF this elec- 2. DoC attempts to present 1080 tion what that will mean is content measurements as the valid three more years of National. end safety procedure thus replacing For any kiwi who is into anything like safety procedure itself by one of the the outdoors or would one day like to parameters of the very procedure. own their house that’s not an option. The

real safety procedure looks R. Smith Thames

Important 1080 point missed Dear Sir

Would you please to pass my humble opinion to Mr James Speedy the author of “Dirty Government Move to Grab Poison Control Dictatorial and any of your contributors who can be interested?

I think that campaign to stop the aerial drop of 1080 is missed the most important point.

New Zealand people do not know for sure if they have not been killed and maimed by aerial drops of 1080 conducted in the last 50 years.

One of the most important way to know the truth is to analyse medical statistic of the affected population.

If 1080 has caused cancer, birth defects, kidney failure and miscarriages then the waves of corresponding delayed death and illnesses must be present in medical data.

It should be comprised of following statistically relevant chapters: 1. 1080 in the water supply (1080 cannot be filtered by any carbon staffed filters) Affected groups people living in provincial towns with direct water supply from the rivers and streams with no means to get 1080 out of the drinking water.

2.

Hunters and their families. Hunters are all firearms license holders hence registered.

3.

Maoris and their families who consumed poisonous eels and other freshwater food.

Look at the current four political parties this way – none of them can be trusted, they all have their hidden agendas, they have all shown that they are completely corrupt.

I would rather give my vote to a party that shows promise, looks trustworthy and deserve a chance to show and prove they make the grade.

What have we got to lose.

If we don’t vote we have a really good chance that NZ First will be in coalition with National and that’s very bad news.

The Greens and Labour is absolutely laughable.

So rather than not vote which is the other option give your vote to a party that made up of kiwis that care about the direction our country is going and want to stop the corruption and deceit in government.

Luke Johnson Hamilton

Pest free by 2050 – Yeah right Dear Sir

It is great to see so many irate people writing in your newspaper about 1080. Here we had on TV not long ago Maggie Barry with a great smirk on her face. This is going to be the biggest poison drop ever in New Zealand history. Looking at her face you’d think she’d just beaten Dolly Parton in a wet tee shirt contest which she never will nor will she ever wipe out rabbits, rats, mice, possums, stoats, weasels or ferrets.

Over sixty years now with 1080 and we are hardly ahead now and the damage that has been done to our country, soil, plants, forests, waterways and reputation is way beyond a disgrace.

Fortunately none of my relations or family are not tied up with this filthy 1080 because there would be a few hospital bills and I wouldn’t be paying a cent towards their injuries. My whole clan has wanted 1080 banned for years.

All the TV footage on vermin is years and years old, all the beach mast they say is rubbish, now they can’t understand where all the birds have gone. Ask the real hunters and bushman with real knowledge and truthful info and the finger point’s everytime to the misuse of 1080.

They say 26 million of our birds are killed each year to vermin; for starters there wouldn’t be 26 million left in NZ. Then ask the idiots how many birds that they kill with 1080? They wouldn’t tell you because they don’t know.

Before 1080 we had vermin and we had birds everywhere throughout our forests. Now they are completely diminished and almost silent.

And Pest Free by 2050 puts the BS a thousand metres high.

roughly as lab tests on genetically diverse cells, lab animals and humans (volunteers, patients, victims etc) followed by epidemiology report.

Is the question they really stupid or they hiding something?

Icing on the 1080 cake: 1. United States Department of Homeland Security tasked US Navy Lab to develop an express test to prevent the mass murder of US citizens by to 1080 in drinking water and liquid food products in 2008 thus putting 1080 on the list of weapons which can potentially attract terrorists.

2. Properties of 1080 which make it chemical weapon: 2.1 Possible application against Japanese soldiers in WW2.

Source late Dean Collings, good idea ask the Japanese embassy.

2.2 No antidote available.

2.3 ONE gram will kill a family of 5.

2.4 Symptoms of poisoning delayed for 1-2 hours.

2.5 Readily soluble in water, does not have a test, smell or color.

2.6 1080 can be produced in a garage in 32 minutes.

2.7 Very cheap. Dick Featherstone I think that absence of epidemiology Thames. research on 1080 has critical political significance and on par with Cook Strait pollution by Plutonium waste Politicians have lost their and other radioactive trash from 1956 way to 1976. Yes, yes 8 km from Lyall Bay. Dear Sir Name withheld by request Elections campaigns are starting up and the lies, false promises and deceit are in full swing.

None of them can be For too long, MPs of all stripes have trusted been sucked into the myth that we are Dear Sir all here to serve the economy, when

the Deep Green Bush-School a day school for years 1-13 F or t wo m illion y ears, p arent s t rust ed t heir children t o learn in freedom . T he D eep G reen B ush- S chool is educat ion b ased on how we evolved t o learn, sup p ort ed b y t he lat est research in neuroscience. W e are looking for courageous fam ilies who recognise t hat em ot ional int elligence, learning from t he wild and a fierce awareness of t he world form t he b ackb one for a m at ure adult

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View the newspaper online at www.fishingoutdoors.org – and advertise online with us actually the economy is one of the systems we control, and we can design it in a way that serves the interest of everyday people and the planet we love.

Politicians talk more about the health of the economy than they do about the health of real people.

We need to remind them what really matters - by creating a crowdsourced vision for New Zealand - and making it clear that we expect the next Government to start reorienting our economy, and our democracy, to get us there.

While we argue and discuss with others the commercial fishing industry are busy manufacturing new toys to enable them to continue the plundering of our inshore waters, fully protected by a gutless MPI. This coming election is the time to elect a political party that will protect our rights as citizens.

Nonvoters are one of the biggest reasons why we have had 3 terms of a corrupt National Government and their supporters clubs (ie Act, Maori party and Dunne).

For three terms the nonvoters have not voted and they have complained non-stop how hard it is for Kiwis and their families.

Here is a hint - get of your butts and make a difference to not only you’re lives but the lives of thousands of your fellow Kiwis and get rid of this bloody most corrupt national government in the history of NZ, or be SELFISH and

only think about you own agenda.

If you do not vote you will get more of the same. Hell not voting for change would be like sticking with an abusive destructive partner because you were too scared to change. Voting is people power. It is the only power that we have. Do not throw it away as useless. Use the power that you have left and make it worth something.

WB Jones Wairarapa

Totally Stupid Dear Sir In support

of Fishhead’s letter to the editor in the last issue.

Yes I totally agree furthermore oneself proclaimed fisho put life and line at risk, in summer if a shark is spotted, siren and lifeguards clear the beach.

But some turkey puts a bloody diver in the water up close, then pulls it ashore and gets his kids in the shallows to admire it. After its been tormented and probably a tad not happy.

We all know what happened to Steve Irwin in Aussie.

If you start pushing the limits one day nature will get its revenge and these dickheads will say oh I wonder why it gets so stroppy. It’s only a matter of time I’d put money on it.

Wait and see.

RGC Northland

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7

Are mussels safe to eat?

The mussel industry recently featured on the Graham Sinclair’s one sided commercial industry show Ocean Bounty.

The first thing everyone needs to understand is that Graham Sinclair has turned his back on the recreational fishermen of NZ for the 30 pieces of silver the commercial industry paid him to put a positive spin on every aspect of commercial fishing in NZ. The focus of the show was on the mussel farms of the Hauraki Gulf.

Of course, the viewers were pointed to the best aspects of the industry

by Sinclair whose constant babbling degraded the quality of the show, as it distracted from the people with the knowledge the public may have been interested in hearing from.

Jake Bartrom was one of those and appeared to have an extensive knowledge of the mussel farming industry from start to finish.

One aspect of the programme most people would have been unaware of was the mussel’s ability to filter all manner of nasty stuff from the water. Our recent articles on dangerous cadmium run-off caused by high intensity super phosphate applications in the Waikato farmlands immediately came to mind.

Mr Bartrom even spoke of how the mussel’s filter out all the sediment and all the nitrogen that flows into the Gulf, he also gave us a history lesson of the days when the great Coromandel kauri forests in combination with the wild mussels in the Gulf had the capability to filter the Gulf of all unwanted sediments in one day.

Then Mr Bartrom explained that because the Kauri forests had gone and the natural mussels had been over harvested the complete filtration of the Gulf only accrued every two years.

It would appear then that the

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Hauraki Gulf has not been naturally filtered for many years and is full of sediment and nitrogen.

The mussel farmer said there was a limit of how much of this activity you could do in an area before the quality of the mussels was affected, ie .too many mussels and they are slow to grow and skinny because they have sifted out all the food in the water.

Is this really what the filter feeding mussels are living on and are they safe to eat?

When Graham Sinclair flew over a harvesting barge you could clearly see a large area of mud coloured water from the sediment washed off the mussels as they were washed ready for export or local trade.

The sediment was foul looking stuff and all that wasn’t sucked up by the filter feeding mussels on the

Best Broadbill Rigs: Why switching to circle hooks will catch swordfish!

Broadbill are known as the gladiator of the sea, the ultimate in game fishing. I have the utmost respect for these fish… nothing compares to the power and fight you get out of a broadbill.

Luke Davey of SwordPro spends a lot of time trialling different setups to find the best broadbill rigs – and he’s had an extremely successful season using circle hooks and our own broadbill swordfish rigs developed by Luke. We’ve either landed or released 10 swords in 11 trips this season, and there’s still plenty of time to get out there and have a crack! A lot of reports are coming in of broadbill being caught in both NZ and Australia, so the end of the season is not here yet. Luke mainly fishes out of Northland. He puts his success down to the experience he has gained over the years perfecting his rigs and deep dropping techniques. We have had a lot of guys contacting us sending in pics of their first sword caught using our rigs, using the techniques we have shared on the website, some after many years of trying.

What makes a successful swordfish rig?

Our rigs are successful due to the combinations we put together. We use skirts as an added attractant but also for protection of the bait, when the fish whacks at the bait to ‘kill’ it there is still the visual attractant of the skirt, while the piece of bait protected up inside the skirt still gives

next line to be harvested would have settled on the bottom as a silty muck choking any sea life it lands on only to be added to next year in the next annual harvest.

If the mussel farms are truly growing in unfiltered agricultural runoff then the farms are too close to the shore and should be moved further up the Gulf to blue water free of such sediments.

The term organic was used by both Sinclair and Bartrom when describing the mussels as a natural product but the mussels growing in the Firth of Thames would be far from it, purely because of the poor water quality.

In the case of a bowl of mussels in a restaurant because any chief worth there salt should lightly steam open the mussels to ensure the mussels don’t turn into rubber it is unlikely that anything from the sedi-

off the smell of a true fish. We find that broadbill are not messy eaters and usually if they do whack at it the bait is still whole if we pull it up. Luke usually has two baited rigs ready to go when fishing, so if the bite is hot he doesn’t have to mess around for 10 mins rigging up another bait - he drops the one he has already prepared and is ready to go. When the bite is hot you need to get another bait down without delay before the fish leaves the area.

With SwordPro broadbill rigs you’ll always be ready for the perfect weather window - No need to spend time searching for the gear to make rigs and rigging up the night before a trip! SwordPro broadbill swordfish rigs are ready to go - just slide a strip bait, small frost fish or whole skippy up inside the skirt for the perfect sword bait. Luke also does custom orders for those wanting a different mono, skirt or light combination.

Using circle hooks for a stronger hook up & successful releases SwordPro recommends the use of circle hooks as there is less chance of pulling the hook due to foul hook ups. Once the circle hook rolls into the perfect position in the corner of the fish’s mouth, you’ll be in one of the strongest hook up points.

You also have a far greater chance of being able to release the fish at the boat when using circle hooks.

There’s an increasing number of small boats out on the water game fishing now that it has become a daytime sport, allowing many more of us to enjoy the thrill of the hunt - however we do need to keep the

ment the mussel has filtered will not be heat treated to a safe level.

It may be time for the consumer to consider what the mussels have been eating before eating them themselves.

The message I got from Sinclair’s programme and Bartrom’s comments on the quality of mussels in the Hauraki Gulf was dire, I really can’t see myself eating any shellfish farmed in the Coromandel or Firth of Thames any time soon or in the future.

Many people manage properties on multiple year government leases. The contracts states at the final harvest the ground they were grown on has to be returned back to arable farm land.

Why are these mussel farms not on a lease that also has this clause.

preservation of the species into our thoughts. This is where SwordPro circle hook rigs come into play. With circle hooks there is a far greater chance of being able to release the fish at the boat. Personally I have had a far greater hook up rate with circle hooks, when compared with J-hooks. Thinking back to when J-hooks were what we used as a standard, there was a far greater percentage of dropped fish due to foul hook ups, with a lot of those fish dropped injured; and I reckon a high percentage of them end up dying on the way back down due to their injuries. I have seen them surface, regurgitate their guts to get rid of the hook then go back down only to die and end up as shark food - such a waste of an amazing fish.

When fishing for broadbill we need to keep in mind they need to be either be on the table feeding a lot of people at the end of the day or released back as breeding stock, therefore we need give them the respect they deserve by making sure they can be released at the boat in the best condition possible if we aren’t taking them home to the table. There are times when release just isn’t possible but we are giving them a far better chance by using circle hooks.

Luke’s hook up rate is sitting at about 90 percent success once he feels the bite using circle hooks.

With circle hooks you also get the true fight out of the fish instead of dragging them up from the depths wounded. Once a circle hook is set in the corner of the fish’s mouth it’s not going anywhere, so you can take your time and work on bringing them in. If you need to have a break, release the drag and you can have a quick rest before carrying on to get them to the boat.

When using circle hooks, when you feel the bite you need to play the fish and work at setting that hook, once set it’s not going anywhere!

8

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An old Stag

By Steve McEwen

It’s late February and my mate that was fencing up Opotiki way, contacted me and he said that he’d seen a couple of good stags and suggested I come up.

Two days later I was on my way, and later that afternoon I was heading up a ridge line where he had last seen them. After finally reaching the

top of this mini mountain and getting the lay of the land, I saw a mob of red hinds and several fallow hopping around but no big stags, in the valley below.

With dusk fast approaching I headed back to camp to do it all again next morning.

After reaching the top again early the next morning and dodging a lot of hinds there were still no stags to be seen.

Deciding to stick with the ridge where I had a good view of the valley on both sides proved a good decision and paid dividends as an hour later as I could see a huge set of antlers in the gully below.

The problem was a mob of hinds around him and the breeze was heading in his direction.

Deciding to drop off the ridge and making a big detour I went down a gully two spurs over to hunt back into the wind towards this monster.

After sneaking through scrubby crap I popped

out on a spur about 50 metres away and …… game over.

He was huge, 17 massive points but a walking bag of bones. He was a very old stag still in velvet (just) with hard antler beneath, he only had two teeth left and I’m sure he wouldn’t have survived this winter or a scrap with another stag.

At first glance I thought he was a farmed escapee but after talking to a local hunter who told me about Cyclone Bolar all those years ago when a lot of deer escaped from flattened fences and put a lot of good genes out there, this stag was a remnant from that gene pool and has done very well to have survived so long.

Anyhow he is a magnificent stag that had a Douglas Score of 361.

A hell of a good way to start the hunting season.

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HUNTERS TAKE DOC TO COURT – AND WIN!!

Recreational hunters have won an important High Court battle against the Department of Conservation, with the court finding that DoC breached natural justice over the way it allowed helicopter operators to kill deer in forest parks.

Hunters, led by the Lower North Island Red Deer Foundation, went to the High Court early last month over what they said was DoC’s refusal to consult fairly over allowing helicopter operators to hunt and kill deer for the commercial wild venison trade in forest parks and other public land.

This practice is known as Wild Animal Recovery Operations, or WARO. The hunters said DoC’s 2015 review of WARO permits resulted in several areas previously closed to helicopters being opened for commercial deer recovery.

This included quashing long standing closures to WARO operations in the Ruahine, Tararua and Rimutaka Forest Parks. In some cases such as the Rimutakas, helicopters were allowed to hunt over 84 percent of the park. Before 2015, they had been banned from 81 percent.

Hunters said DoC’s actions were unfair as it had failed to consult with them as it was required to do, yet it had consulted with the helicopter operators.

In his judgement, Justice Simon France agreed, saying he was sat-

isfied the process was unfair because of DoC’s failure to consult.

Justice France says as the Minister of Conservation’s delegate, DoC was under a duty to consult with the Red Deer Foundation in order to achieve a fair process.

He says as a result of this unfairness, DoC’s 2015 WARO decision is invalid due to a failure of natural justice.

Justice France has also awarded costs to the Red Deer Foundation.

The Lower North Island Red Deer Foundation is delighted with the High Court victory.

Its president Gordon George says the decision is great news and will benefit hunters nationwide.

“DoC’s view that it was under no obligation to consult with hunters has been proved wrong. The areas opened to helicopters are important recreational hunting areas and used by thousands of hunters every year.

Gordon George says the court battle was unnecessary.

“The lifting of helicopter exclusions without any hunter input came as a complete surprise. The whole process has been time consuming and costly and DoC has wasted taxpayer dollars. We tried repeatedly to engage with DoC about what was happening and couldn’t find out even under the Official Information Act. In the end

Fish and Game betray shooters Out of the wild petfood As many duck shooters around the country fight to have steel shot replaced with the proven lead shot they have been betrayed by Fish and Game.

World-wide condemnation of steel shot has been ignored even after a shooter was wounded in the eye the bureaucrats refuse the listen.

Maggie Barry Conservation Minister says she fully supports Fish

and Game’s decision to phase out lead shot for waterfowl hunting.

Fish & Game’s New Zealand Council voted last month to end the exemption which allowed several thousand firearms owners to use lead shot.

“By the 2021 shooting season, shotgun owners will have to use non-toxic shot when they’re hunting ducks, swan and pukeko over water,” Ms Barry says.

While In many parts of the world, hunters are banned from using lead shot many countries are returning to lead shot as it is proved that the harm to wild fowl is worse using steel.

Bureaucrats and green environmentalists have stated that lead is toxic but trials and tests by waterfowl experts have shown otherwise.

Hunters - dog lovers Out of the Wild Petfood is a company that sources wild game from New Zealand which is high in protein, omegas, viamins and other natural minerals.

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Out of the Wild is a family business that strives to give your pet the best petfood they can be eating at an affordable cost out of the wild sources of wild game from around New Zealand which is high in protein, omegas, vitamins and other natural minerals.

All animals that are harvested come from poison free and TB free areas.

We have 20 odd hunters that regularly supply us.

For them to do so they have to past a harvester’s exam and also provide GPS marks of their kills so that it is traceable through the whole process We also harvest a lot of the product ourselves as we have our own pest control crew.

Their products are unique as they offer a lot of different flavours and a comprehensive range compared to other petfood companies as there is only really beef lamb/mutton and chicken available elsewhere.

They have found a lot of people coming to them as their pets are allergic or have allergies to the above flavours Also another great thing they believe is that it is good that none of

the animals are farmed so they haven’t been drenched or had growth hormones or antibiotics which they believe is better for your pets as its more natural.

Although their DNA remains the same and their tastes demand something of the wild, ‘Out of the wild’ dog and cat food provides them with all the best nutrition available today.

The range is made from minced and cubed possum, rabbit/hare, goat, venison, turkey and wallaby they also stock diced goat and venison.

They also do a lot of 50/50 mixes possum/goat, possum/venison, and pos-

we had no choice but to go to court.

“We hope the department will now start consulting properly with recreational hunters as it is required to do.”

Mr George says there is an ironic twist to the case.

“Ironically, our foundation grew out of the Lower North Island Hunter Liaison Group which DoC set up. The terms of reference included working together in good faith and operating on a no surprises basis, but then DoC went and ignored its own guidelines and left us with court as the only option.”

The Red Deer Foundation says New Zealand has around 40 thousand large game hunters who spend around $140 million every year harvesting around 135 thousand deer off public and private land.

In contrast, it says the WARO industry is worth only about $5 million a year and kills around 16,000 deer.

The Foundation says despite recreational hunting being more effective and contributing more to the economy, DoC bent over backwards to accommodate minority commercial interests.

Following the High Court decision, the Foundation is calling on DoC to change its behaviour and work cooperatively with recreational hunters instead of shutting them out.

sum/wallaby as they believe possum is the best thing they can be eating.

For your bigger dogs they do possum chunks, rabbit chunks, possum back steaks and goat and venison bones.

They freight NZ wide so if your pets are not eating any of the out of the wild petfood range they are not eating the best.

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A Good Story to Tell

By Ken Sims

Prime Minister Bill English recently praised the work that farmers were doing to improve freshwater quality, saying that the public was unaware of how much was being invested by farmers, how much they were changing, and they just needed it explained to them. If I was a farmer, I would find these statements extremely troubling.

You see, the public aren’t ‘unaware’ and they aren’t stupid. They are fully aware that landowners have put a lot of time and resources into fencing off rivers, planting riverbanks, and better managing effluent from sheds. They know that this is good practice and will help control pollution. They also know that this simply isn’t enough to fix the ongoing and increasing pollution and degradation of their waterways by intensive agriculture. Which begs the question: just who is being stupid here?

What the public are increasingly aware of is that all of the efforts by

farmers and volunteers to promote this good practice, and all of the ratepayer dollars spent subsidising it, amount to nothing while the stated Government policy remains to increase, nay double, the source of the problem – the intensification of agriculture. The public know that primary production is the single greatest source of water pollution in the country. They know that the country simply has too many cows for the land and waterways to absorb, and doesn’t need any more.

They know that large, taxpayersubsidised irrigation schemes on porous, rocky eastern soils leads to intensive agriculture that will continue to degrade both public waterways and aquifers. They know that the relentless drive to increase all primary production can only be sustained by huge increases in the use of artificial fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides that poison more than their intended targets, and

which ultimately end up contaminating their waterways. They know that such intensive monoculture production simply results in biosecurity invasions that impact on them as well as farmers. They know that until agriculture becomes sustainable and balanced with the environment; their public waterways simply aren’t going to improve.

So there are two reasons why farmers should feel deeply troubled by the Government’s response to this.

Firstly, while public waterways continue to degrade into toxic agricultural drains that will sicken or even kill animals and children, or dry up completely, their public image will continue to get worse, no matter what they do. Even though its cause is stated Government policy. Secondly, by identifying farmers as the solution regardless of their own policies, this Government is signalling that, when the public’s patience finally runs out completely, the Government will identify farmers as the problem, and not themselves.

Ken Sims is a freshwater fisherman, and advocate for clean, healthy waterways.

Fullon Fishing Competition

Simon Hayward with a 5.095 Kg Snapper and Mark Robinson with a 7.895 Kg Snapper

This was a great competition which attracted 45 anglers with 64 target species weighed of which some were very nice. Thanks to Fullon Fishing www.fullonfishing.co.nz and Catch Fishing www.catchfishing.co.nz for their continued support and generous donations to the competition said Wayne Barnesthecompetitionorganizer.

Skippy: 1st Wayne Barnes; 2nd Alec Stevenson; 3rd Stan Bakewell; 4th Ian Jowett; 5th Damien Fletcher.

Trevally: 1st Gary Lawson, 2.125;

2nd Ray McIntyre, 2.010; 3rd Carl Muir 1.835; 4th Stan Bakewell, 1.550; 5th Arthur Larsen, 1.515.

Kahawai: 1st Simon Hayward 2.625; 2nd Quenton Hayward; 3rd Ron Cross, 2.250; 4th Dave Bedfoed, 2.135.

Snapper: 1st Mark Robinson, 7.895; 2nd Peter Millen, 6.850; 4th Simon Hayward, 5.095; 5th Wayne Barnes, 4.720; 5th Paul Johnson, 4.570; 6th Bryce Ruthe, 4.545; 8th Adam Fuller, 4.295.

Average Weight: Skippy: 1.541; Trevally: 1.654; Kahawai: 2.049; Snapper: 3.093.

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9

Today on September 23, is About Tomorrow

by Rupert Pye

Interesting things have been happening in the world wide political scene. There’s been a revolution - a democratic uprising - against the Establishment and its corporate cronyism. There was the unexpected win for Donald Trump in the US elections.

Like him or loathe him, Trump’s victory pointed to one thing - people in the US were fed up with corporatism and favouritism to big business bordering on or actually being, blatant corruption. The anti-Establishment wave continued in the UK’s Brexit vote and then in the French elections. More recently the snap election in the UK showed the same trend with the inpower Conservative government getting a real slap in the face from voters.

In the UK election the additional interesting trend was the surge of young voters. It was a remarkable turnaround in that 72 percent of voters in the 15-24 age bracket voted compared to the UK previous four elections where the youth turnout was about 40 percent. Almost double.

Apathy has been to the fore in NZ with over a million not voting, some even not registered to vote. Young voters have been a large part of that voter indifference. Political parties seemed oblivious although there are signs they’re waking up. The Labour Party has promoted Jacinda Adern to deputy leader and the Greens have put a number of young, bright candidates on its list. In the UK Labour reportedly made

strong use of the social media such as twitter, showing they were in the 21st century and not languishing in the 20th century. Young voters were awakened and given motivation to vote.

NZ First has been getting much more media coverage with Winston Peters featuring of course. Immigration was a key topic and rightly so. The absurd influx of immigrants, higher per capita than the UK and USA is depriving young people of jobs and for us all, putting extra pressure on a creaky infrastructure. They won’t however commit to solid policy decisions to many of the environmental and inshore fishing problems that are allowing the corporate entities to control political decisions.

The gross exploitation of the NZ inshore waters by fishing companies is continuing. So as a diversion government protects a marine reserve 100 miles off our coast.

Is it a government feint, to take the public’s attention away from the dreadful mismanagement going on around our inshore fisheries?

Oh so an offshore marine reserve 100 miles off our coast shows government is looking after the fishery?

Yet it cannot look after the inshore zones. Meanwhile international fishing fleets are stripping the Kermadecs.

Priorities are wrong and it’s only serving to camouflage New Zealand’s real issue. Gross exploitation of the NZ inshore waters by - fishing and

aquaculture should be a big issue.

NZ First as comfortable as it is looking, needs to not just target the ‘grey power’ vote but youngsters too. If it plays its marketing right, I predict NZ First could have at least 20 MPs in Parliament.

That is from a swinging voter too!

Water will be a big issue in this election aggravated for government by its willingness to allow corporates to bottle the public’s water for nothing. The water issue also embraces the poor state of rivers, lakes and streams. It is not just the quality but the quantity of water. Rivers are running dry. Government’s anti-democratic handling of ECAN in Canterbury where it squashed a democratically elected council and replaced it with its own puppet politically picked “lackies” was to aid water allocations to often corporate dairying.

Note the word “corporates” go figure.

Government’s power grab like ECan extended to RMA decisions and 1080 poison drops, where Minister for the Environment (surely the worst Environment Minister ever?)

Nick Smith has removed rights of local councils to adjudicate and “Big Brother” government will decide.

All in all it’s promising to be an intriguing election on September 23. Are you registered to vote? Will you on the day or online, vote? September 23 is very much about tomorrow and whether we the outdoor folk choose silent forests and dry riverbeds by not voting.

Regulators get salvo from Mainfreight

‘Just a few more cows per acre, just a wee bit more water for irrigation, just another water bore in case it doesn’t rain, just a wee bit more stormwater, just a few more years of raping our already depleted fish stocks.’

The problems could not be fixed by the market but were like law and order issues politicians should deal with, he said.

The Federation of Freshwater Anglers congratulates Mainfreight founder and chairman Bruce Plested in his hard-hitting social message in their annual review.

Plested took a swipe at politicians for the state of the countries environment as election time nears.

Mr Plested said: that Environmental degradation required strong political will over recycling and water, and that regulators has left the problem of fresh water rights for our children and grandchildren.

Plested blamed the ‘wee bit more’ philosophy.

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The Surf casters secret weapon Aquaculture in the Hauraki Gulf Have you ever been out surfcasting and wondered about the benefits of being able to cast you line out just a wee bit further?

Baitcannons have come up with two marvelous concepts that a ground breakers.

There are two types available; first there is the ‘Big Berther”.

This is a self-contained unit that you simply place on the beach, unfold the legs, put your rod into the holder supplied, drop the supplied sinker and trace with bait attached down the barrel. Pump up to the desired pressure, walk down to where you want to launch the sinker and bait near the surf line, knock back the lever to shoot the line out approximately 200 to 250 metres and that’s it, then

sit back while you catch a fish. It takes about 10 seconds to set it up.

The unit is only 6kgs and 1750mm long and comes in a base unit or a full kit depending on what you desire.

The second option is the Surf Smasher.

This is a smaller hand held unit in which you simply put your rod in a rod holder previously dug into the beach, load the cannon with the sinker and bait, pump up to the pressure your require, then walk down the water’s edge and shoot it out 150 to 200 metres, go back flip over your bail arm and take up the slack. That’s it.

The Surf Smasher is only 1140mm long and 3 kg so fits nicely into the storage boxes on most motor homes or easily into the boot of your vehicle.

It comes in two different kits, the base kit or a full kit inc pump etc.

The device can also be made left-handed.

The Bait Cannons are sold as an R20 device as it is not a toy.

It has been manufactured in NZ, using Marley high pressure fittings rated at 167psi, and quality PVC/Stainless and Brass fittings (no rust). It uses a brass pressure release valve for added safety.

Check out the testimonies on social media or You tube at https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=doSbxPe23pE Contact Keith on baitcannons@ gmail.com or web site www.baitcannons.com or call 021 0733374

Biggest event in our fishing history It was great to view the ‘Ocean Bounty’ programme on TV recently which clearly showed the PSH trawl net system working very successfully.

Congratulations to the industry.

This is probably one of the biggest successful events in our commercial fishing history.

The programme showed that the skipper fished well off shore away from the boat ramps, beaches and recreational camping areas which is what rec fishers have been asking, especially around the holiday periods and competitions.

The fish in the cod end looked to be in excellent condition and were not strangled, damaged by the net or crushed to death.

The discard or kgs of waste per tonne appeared to be less than a long liner or what recreational

fishers could achieve. This is a very successful achievement which means they don’t have to fish close inshore and don’t need to use ‘munchers’ below decks to get rid of bi-catch or unwanted fish.

The quality of the fish which the programme said was sent for local trade looked to be in excellent condition.

The show didn’t bleat on about exporting of the fish, in fact exporting hardly got a mention.

At the end of the programme the fish wholesaler made a point of tipping a half-bin of good sized flounder over ice. It’s really good to see that we can expect to have more of this available for local trade.

I know the programme was edited to take out anything that was or could have been detrimental to the industry but by doing so they

just set a national standard that the industry should be able to adopt.

This standard should make it completely viable for all the other commercial operators that still trawl using the older methods from forty years ago to come up to speed with this technology especially if the industry used some of their quarterly increased profits to subsidise more PSH. If the industry agreed to only use the PSH trawl system in the fishery it would effectively make all reefs and structures recreational reserves, which would protect many of our inshore species.

This trawl method is a game changer, especially if the PSH system is as good as the programme showed and it is a truthful rendition of the net working.

The tragic cost of MMP Media had a field-day with the Barclay/English fiasco. In the feeding frenzy over the lies by Barclay and English they miss the main point. To be able to control the MMP game in parliament National needed Barclay’s seat. National, like Labour, New Zealand First, and the Greens will do anything to retain or gain power.

More than anything else the Barclay/English is a reminder of the downside of MMP. It is a representation system with one serious flaw. It puts too much power in the hands of political parties. The cost of list representation is that the first responsibility of list MPs is to their political party not the good people of Aotearoa/New Zealand. MMP in its current form results in bribery and corruption. Even the Greens in their scramble for power have abandoned their once lofty principles.

Nothing has really changed including the failure by the public to remember and the desire by politicians to bury the past. The difference is only in the detail between the Barclay/English fiasco before the election this year and the Peters/Clark fiasco before the election in 2008.

Both may have the same result.

When will the media wake up to the fact that funding of political parties by those with a commercial interest in raping our nations fish, freshwater, and soil does comes with expectations?

Arguably the Greens play this game better than anyone else. Greenpeace with failed ex-Green Party leader at its helm is now able to play politics much more effectively with private donations over which there is no parliamentary scrutiny. How much money might big fishery companies pay Greenpeace to say nothing about Maui Dolphins until after the election?

Then we have Winston Peters with his commercial interests in a Christchurch mushroom farm using his party and parliamentary question time to reach through MPI to chase down imports of

compost by a commercial competitor. Peters then proclaims to the public that NZ First is the party of regional development!

Labour cunningly attempts to avoid scrutiny by being all things to all people. Perhaps the no show of their fishing policy means that they too have taken funding from commercial players whose rape and pillage of fisheries is well suited by current quota arrangements?

Andrew Little stumbles from denial to denial over the actions of the Party President (deals with the Greens) and his Matt McCarten his appointed Auckland Office Campaign Manager WWOPC (Willing Workers On Political Campaigns) scheme. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/94124107/labour-council-member-standsdown-as-intern-debacle-probed Failure to take responsibility for his team’s actions as leader of the Labour Party in opposition can hardly be reassuring for either his caucus or give the public any confidence that he is a team player capable of leading the country.

Little’s path to the leadership of the Labour Party is scattered with bodies including Phil Goff’s and various other caucus members who stood in his way. Few remember his action as Party President when he undermined Phil Goff’s compassion before politics approach in the Darien Hughes affair. http://www.newshub.co.nz/ general/andrew-little--runningwith-the-big-boys-2011102115 As a clever lawyer Little was then involved in changing the party’s constitution to swing union support in behind his leadership bid which was not supported by the majority of caucus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ New_Zealand_Labour_Party_leadership_election,_2014 Bah humbug and a pox on MMP and the politics it has spawned.

It is time for some honesty and

transparency from those who want to be Prime Minister and scrutiny of policy by what shreds remain of the independent media.

Within the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park there are nearly 1500 hectares of consented mussel farm space, mainly within the Wilson Bay zone in the Firth of Thames, producing around 30,000 tonnes per year, accounting for over a quarter of national production.

Production from the existing farms is predicted to double to 60,000 tonnes per year by 2025 based on improved productivity, development of consented farms within the Wilson Bay zone, and small extensions to existing farms outside the zone.

There are 210 hectares of consented oyster farm space in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, accounting for nearly half of national production.

Two thirds of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park’s oyster production occurs in the Auckland region, with Mahurangi Harbour (108 ha of farms) being the centre of the industry.

There are currently no finfish farms in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. However, there is 90 hectares of space in the Wilson Bay zone (of which 18 hectares is Treaty settlement space) and 300 hectares of space in the Coromandel Marine Farming Zone (of which 60 hectares is Treaty settlement space).

The Waikato Regional Council has begun a tender process for the Coromandel Marine Farming Zone.

Fish farming is an example of fed aquaculture where fish are fed

manufactured feed pellets. This introduces additional product into the marine area with potentially greater environmental impacts.

According to SeaChange the Hauraki Gulf marine farms have been located inappropriately close to coastal wāhi tapu (sacred sites).

Marine farms are also a potential barrier to mana whenua environmental and kaimoana restoration goals, and bring a risk of entanglement and loss of territory for marine mammals.

Coastal hapū are regular witnesses to paru, rubbish resulting from farms, including lost floats and lines. But they are also concerned with pollution that is unseen, the accumulation of detritus and waste on the seabed. Tikanga Māori includes codes of conduct, based on centuries of living in a particular area, which may be offended by some activities associated with marine farming.

For this reason, iwi seek involvement in any plans for new marine farms.

Despite significant shareholdings in commercial fishing and aquaculture companies, some individual iwi and hapū have experienced barriers to participation in aquaculture related statutory processes.

As a result, marine farms have been approved without consideration of effects on mana whenua values and interests. Barriers to participation

limit the opportunity for farms to proactively address tikanga issues and mana whenua concerns, and places hapū and iwi in a reactive mode.

Community engagement processes have found that people have both positive and negative perspectives on aquaculture.

In general, shellfish aquaculture is viewed positively, however the industry does itself severe harm through its denials of ecological impact.

The importance of the industry to local communities in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park is clearly recognised.

The negative effects of aquaculture must be avoided or managed so that a healthy environment is maintained and the environmental degradation which affects aquaculture is addressed so that the industry is not negatively impacted.

Well-targeted and sensible monitoring of aquaculture must be carried out and is integrated with Gulf-wide state of the environment monitoring.

Areas suitable for the various types of aquaculture must be thoroughly undertaken and identified..

Aquaculture is valued for its economic and environmental benefits, but its impacts on natural character, water quality and other uses of the marine environment need to be closely managed.

Yes, you can pay petrol money There is incorrect comment on social media that sharing the cost of petrol on a recreational fishing trip makes the trip “commercial”.

Those posts are wrong.

The owner of a pleasure craft who uses it for recreational purposes can receive contributions for costs.

The Maritime Transport Act specifically states that this is not reward, and it is therefore not commercial.

Statements from some people that all manufacturers’ logos have to be removed from vessels and motors are also wrong.

Having, for example, a boat builder’s logo visible on a pleasure craft does not in itself make it a commercial ship. However, being sponsored and receiving some kind of reward from the sponsor might

make it a commercial operation.

If you are unsure if your use of a vessel is commercial, please do not hesitate to contact your nearest Maritime NZ office. One of our Maritime Officers will be happy to help you.

Maritime NZ does not decide if a vessel is commercial or a pleasure craft, which is defined in the Maritime Transport Act. The definitions in the Act state: commercial ship means a ship that is not - (a) a pleasure craft; or (b) solely powered manually; or (c) solely powered by sail. pleasure craft - (a) means a ship that is not offered or used for hire or reward, and is used exclusively for: (i) the owner’s pleasure or as the owner’s residence; or (ii) recreational purposes by: (a) the members of a club that owns the ship; (b) the ben-

021 0733374

eficiaries of a trust that owns the ship; (c) the members of an incorporated society that owns the ship; but excludes a ship that is-(i) provided for transport, sport, or recreation by, or on behalf of, an institution, hotel, motel, place of entertainment, or other establishment or business; (ii) used on a voyage for pleasure if the ship is normally used, or intended to be normally used, as a fishing ship or for the carriage of passengers or cargo for hire or reward; (iii) operated or provided by: (a) a club, incorporated society, or trust for non-recreational purposes; or (b) a business.

The Act is on the Maritime NZ website at http://www.maritimenz.govt.nz/public/environment/legislation-regulations.asp

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The Abdication of Democracy affecting Wild Food Harvesting in New Zealand

by Graham. A. Sperry

I believe the government through departments such as DoC are acting contrary to the Parliamentary and Public Service Manual Guidelines which insist on openness, and integrity toward the public. NZ has ceased to be a true democracy.

The NZ Wildlands Biodiversity Management Society Inc’ has, as an example, over many years, experienced several responses to requests submitted under the Official Information Act, from Ministers typically saying “The Minister does not have the information requested in his office, and therefore your request for the information is declined”.

No matter that the Minister is responsible for a government department such as Dept of Conservation or Agriculture; that Minister avoids his / her responsibility to Joe Citizen by using nebulous internal government rules to obscure facts to which the public is entitled. This obfuscation usually takes at least a month before the enquirer is informed and realises that he is regarded as a nuisance entitled to no information which might embarrass the government. The other oft received alternative to this response is a “form letter” comprising the current PC government propaganda being foisted through official media. The citizen, if somewhat educated by past experiences, repeats the request, this time addressed to the Director General of the Dept. responsible. DoC and Dept. Agriculture are notorious in their manner of response to these enquiries where sensitive or embarrassing data is not going to support their performance claims, resource consent obligations or their propaganda. After waiting at least another month Joe Citizen may receive only a partial set

of answers with “official documents” likely to have sections blacked out.

When Joe Citizen again repeats the request for full information and another month passes, he is likely to be told “as this information may take more than a few hours of staff time to extract from records, you are required to pay “x” hundred dollars to cover costs”. DoC is particularly notorious for this tactic. There are examples of DoC data which have never been readily released which might demonstrate damage and lack of efficacy of their propagandised mass 1080 poisoning programs, or their poisoning of Kea, or other incomplete investigations (as with eels and stream fauna).

The Animal Health Board is another abuser of accountability to the public.

AHB was set up outside of parliament by the Executive Committee (comprising The Governor General (Chair), Prime Minister and a few senior Ministers) which functions to address national security issues. Bovine TB could hardly be classed as a security issue, yet this Committee removed the responsibility of bTB management from Ministry of Agriculture and Internal Affairs in 1998 and deliberately created the AHB vehicle as a “Charitable Society” 100% funded by the public, specifically in order that its activities could not be accountable to the public via the OIA or the Ombudsman. This allowed years of misleading propaganda and cost information which the public was prevented from properly being able to access or debate. For over a decade the public was told aerial 1080 costs were around $8 to $10 per hectare. Finally in 2011 NZWBM society accessed an audited report of the AHB true costs which revealed costs averaged $57.

All this time, the safe alternative of the possum fur and trapping industry was being denigrated by departments as being not effective or cost efficient. The interpretation by DoC, AHB (now OSPRI/TBFree) as to what “Public Consultation” means is a further insult to the democratic process.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment during it’s review refused to hear evidence from NZWBM society which was to contest the use of 1080 poison prior to the (PCE) erroneous report supporting increased use of that poison. The PCE report contains errors of fact. See www.1080science.co.nz The NZ $289 billion debt means that the government is somewhat obligated to the will of the mortgage holders over NZ and unlikely to fully enact the views of its voting public.

Anyone with a mortgage is aware of how the debt servicing obligation to banks and councils governs family freedoms and decisions. Our country’s major infrastructure assets like hydro schemes, mines and forests, farms and crown lands have been sold to private interests to pay debt.

It seems the reason we are continually being misinformed, even to the extent of the green brainwashing of school kids through to universities; and the general public via the media is that our government does not belong to us. It belongs to something else.

DoC and the AHB use the possum and rat as a smokescreen to foster the mass poisoning of NZ’s forests and waters, simultaneously compromising our ability to hunt and gather wild food. This is also reflected in the introduction of the notorious “Food Bill” and the reductions of recreational salt water fishing take, and the non fund-

ing of NZ Fish & Game by government.

The disadvantaging of possum trapping and rabbit harvesters are other examples along with removal of the public’s democratic rights to object to 1080 poison drop resource consent processes by Smith this year. Smith and Barry deserve being set in the stocks in a public place where the Joe Public has free access to vast quantities of rotten fruit, eggs and fish.

Greed of certain businesses which contract to government is what is allowing the deceptions to thrive, abetted by extremist greens and public naivety with little concept of the realities of profitable productivity for community. Oh, let’s all now depend on mass immigration and tourist influxes-- so long as the gullible public can be conned into paying for the new outhouses and infrastructure these polluting hordes require. Yep, Gov’t borrows and creates more debt for NZ’ers and; Oh yes, jobs for the DoC bureaucracy, who, incidentally, cannot even keep the bogs around the tramping huts and tracks usable and sanitary. DoC says it needs more money from us to do their job. The government, Smith, Barry and DoC Director General Lou Sanson needs their heads jammed down the clogged dunnys and maybe they might see sense.

Last week, Bill English was telling local councils they should increase their debt. So the debt slavery program is being fostered by central government continuing to lead NZ into total control by the Banksters. For too long our economy, especially dairying and housing has been built upon land speculative profits rather than real efficient productivity. Ultimately the taxes and rates continue to escalate faster than NZ can profit from real

productivity, and this is being manipulated by the ratbags who create the borrowing and the debt trap that our politicians et al have led NZ into.

Our government seemingly does NOT represent us. It more likely represents through preposterous misinformation and obfuscation, the greedy Banksters cartels.

Think about it. Why did central government force change to capital rating?

Why did Judge Thorpe when presiding over firearms ownership law changes say the restrictions were what the U.N. required?

Smith sent an edict to councils instructing them to ban the use of lead on recreational shooting ranges (generally covering small land areas) while simultaneously promoting and authorising the distribution of one of the world deadliest Class 1A poisons across 2 million acres of the South Island forests and waterways and simultaneously promoting an 80 year scam to supposedly plan to make a limited number of our waterways “safe for swimming”?

Industrial and agricultural chemical poisoning (including poisoning of thousands of kilometres of waterways with 1080 poison and the like can be feasibly stopped immediately if the government was sincere. These edicts are more directed at control of people than environmental or community care. They create increasing taxation, reducing personal freedoms, destruction of the fishing, shooting and hunting sports and wild animal harvesting for family sustenance in favour of forcing taxable purchases.

What are the reasons for the abuses of power we suffer and the disinformation we are being fed; the covering up of data which does not fit with government departmental bureaucratic expansionist and control policies?

Why does our government not enforce the UN treaties NZ co-wrote guaranteeing clean water, while causing and allowing pollution of our waters with various poisons and rotting carcasses?

Why do relatively unqualified gov-

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ernment Ministers declare policies; being led by the nose by career civil servant bureaucrats with agendas apparently averse to what the public wants or even what truth would indicate should be done?

In short, our so- called “democracy” has been turned inside out such that NZ citizens no longer control their elected government nor see or believe in election promises being honoured.

Instead, manipulated government controls US.

Rivers were used as highways between huts and hunting areas by deer cullers in the early days and were a common hazard that became an every day occurrence. there would be up to 80 or more crossings between some huts. these photos show culler Alby Lewis crossing in the conventional way and the other using an early type of walkway made of number 8 wire. These walkways were used to cross flooded rivers or ones that were too deep to cross. As the years rolled over the bridges became more stable with a wider foot base to walk on.

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The Killing Nation: Rural Coromandel Fights Back Is our backcountry angling worth protecting?

By Geoffrey and Reihana Robinson

The Department of Conservation is celebrating. Four years after it broke the back of New Zealand’s anti-1080 movement DOC is to assault our backyards again with another massive aerial 1080 drop. There is no evidence to justify this poison strategy.

There is no independent monitoring of the so-called target species of possums and rats, or the indigenous threatened species. There is just the clanging of the GDP till emanating from Wellington. The governmentowned 1080 poison company— Animal Control Products, is part of a $100 million dollar poison business.

Just a few hours across the Hauraki plains from the city of Auckland lie the public lands of the Coromandel Peninsula, a tourist mecca.

Although DOC manages conservation estate on the mountain, tangata whenua and neighbouring residents take their roles as kaitiaki and guardians just as seriously.

For many years, DOC has successfully managed predator control on Moehau by trapping and ground baiting, thanks to an extensive network of established tracks and some hard yakker. DOC now says aerial 1080 is a more efficient way to meet its goals. 1080 kills all oxygenbreathing creatures, including weta, and was first used as an insecticide But the plan happens to mean toxin pellets in the drinking water of neighbouring farmers, threats to rare native bats and endangered birds,

risks to stock, economic losses for pet food and honey industries as well as a severe affront to spiritual and cultural values.

When the first drop was planned in the Moehau region, locals, including internationally qualified scientists were threatened by police should they attempt to halt the poison drop. DOC’s Hauraki office held low-key meetings with individual residents and chosen iwi members to meet minimum “consultation” requirements. It also spent thousands of dollars on helicopter overflight rides for “guests” in an attempt to win support for its operational policy shift.

The rural communities most affected

by DOC’s irresponsible poison programme have been vocal supporters of traditional DOC work. On Moehau, for example, a tracked region of 4500 sloping hectares, trappers, hunters and bait station contractors have been so successful in recent decades, that DOC researchers prided themselves on the location as greatest kiwi chick survival land in the country.

However farmers, trappers, hunters, and conservationists on the Coromandel, supported by the local Coromandel/Colville Community Board and the regions district council (Thames Coromandel District Council) have petitioned in the thousands, marched in the hundreds and attempted every process available (including presentation to a Select Committee in Wellington in 2010) to communicate their ongoing support for trapping, hunting and the only non-residual, ‘humane’ toxin, cyanide to kill wild animals.

Coromandel residents, like the New Zealanders surveyed by Landcare researchers in 2006, do not support the inhumane poisoning of wild animals.* The larger the animal the greater the opposition, yet the much-maligned possum comes in at 73%. The mega-

blitz of propaganda that DOC creates to portray the possum as public enemy number one has yet to convince 73% of our population cruelty is okay.

This year, residents whose land backs onto the Moehau region, namely communities and farmlands at Sandy Bay, Port Charles, Port Jackson, and Fantail Bay have been told to expect a torrent of poison sometime “between July and October.”

The risks are enormous. As locals recall too well, a massive flood struck the entire western flank of Moehau on the night of June 10, 2014. Paddocks, homes, sheds, and gardens were inundated with thousands of tonnes of mountainside rocks, mud, trees and debris of all kind. Had that flood disaster struck nine months earlier, deadly, rotting, 1080-laced rat and possum carcasses, as well as uneaten pellets from DOC’s last toxin carpetbombing would have washed down to farms and homes and into the sea.

Dangerous, ineffective, and costly aerial 1080 drops in our community’s back yard now are entirely unwarranted and unnecessary – despite being more convenient for office-bound DOC managers.

Once again opposition is fierce.

New petitions are currently gathering adding to the more than 70 immediate abutters and local residents who petitioned DOC to abandon its plan four short years ago. Strong iwi opposition to aerial 1080 on Moehau also emerged.

In a 2013, April 2 letter to Conservation Minister Nick Smith (released to the Robinsons), the Te Arawa Lakes Trust stated it “will take offense to any violation of Te Arawa’s wahi tapu” without its permission. The trust explicitly urges “the Crown to cancel its upcoming 1080 poison drop on the forest of Te Moehua o Tamatekapua”. And in June 2017 spokesperson for Ngati Tamatera Harataunga/Kuaoutunu confirmed his hapu position—”No 1080 in our Rohe”.

Nelson 1080 poison drop postponed It was brilliant work, with lawyers throwing the law book at DoC. Brodifacoum was shown by Landcare research years ago that it affected “non-target” species like ruru.

The DoC website also showed several years ago that they “had stopped using brodifacoum on the mainland”.

Yet today, as conservation has got increasingly outsourced and privatised to community “trusts”, brodifacoum is freely available by the 10 kg bag in Farm Centres.

This shows why it’s so important to ensure consultation with individuals

and the public on decisions that affect them. Otherwise there is a very unfortunate incentive for the applicant to provide a defective AEE to understate the adverse effects.”

An AEE is an ‘assessment of environmental effects’ and makes many of the 1080 drops a prohibited activity!

The Brook Community Group filed in the High Court recently seeking urgent orders to Stop the Drop.

The group now have a commitment from the Brook Sanctuary to postpone the aerial drop of 24+ tonne of Brodifacoum poison pel-

lets into the sanctuary land and into the headwaters of the Brook Stream (Nelson’s original water supply) at least until the Court can address this.

The group has asked the Nelson Council to assess the combination of section 13 the RM Act and the freshwater rules in the Nelson RMP which prohibit the deposition of toxic substances in or on or under the bed or bank of a river. In combination these appear to make the proposed aerial drop of brodifacoum poison baits in, on or under the bed or bank of the Brook Stream (or any other any Nelson river) a prohibited acti.

Our angling heritage should never be reduced to dollar values.

The South Island back country rivers are now dominated by guides and non-resident anglers. The tourist fishing industry is booming.

Parts of the so called down country e.g.: Northern Southland, are now becoming threatened.

There are foreigners building a fishing lodge in the iconic upper Ahuriri, and helping themselves to our heritage at minimal cost. To the kiwi angler, it is like a foreign take over. Some resident anglers feel they need to stand up and lobby for our fishing rights.

It sounds like sour grapes from some who want the rivers to themselves.

Or maybe they are right and kiwi resi-

dent anglers should have preference on some back country rivers where catch and release is widely practiced.

Perhaps tourist anglers should be forced to adopt this practice!

However, recreational fishing, means not for wholesale commercial use. Tourism is commercial use.

The whole point of tourism is to make money. Our forefathers developed our angling to be a recreational heritage first and foremost.

Heritage, meaning it belongs to all New Zealanders. Kiwi anglers should never be obliged to surrender their heritage to being overwhelmed by tourist anglers.

Tourism should never impinge on the rights of the kiwi an-

Further water extraction NZ Pure Blue a water bottling company has applied to build a bottling plant to extract and take water from Putaruru’s Blue Spring in the Waihou River. The consent application is for 6,900m3 a day to be extracted.

The South Waikato District Council is aware of this consent application but is not involved in the processing of the consent. The consent is being processed under the Resource Management Act by the Waikato Regional Council.

South Waikato District Council sup-

ports economic growth, community development and job creation which are embedded in their strategic direction adopted at six years ago under their Long Term Plan.

The Councils support for this new business is based on its indication of a significant number of new jobs for our community and funding a community trust for community development which they negotiating.

It seems that water environmentalists are up against a brick wall in these situations; i.e. promises of jobs.

Some 1080 facts Dear Sir The Minister of Conservation Ms Barry orders the slaughter of 100 million native species.

How can the NZ public allow this brain dead, illegal activity to continue?

Ms Barry was on TV skiting she has killed 25 million rats. If she killed those rats with 1080 she has just created 25 million lethal baits that will remain highly lethal for 9-12 months.

This means that if only 4 native species come into contact or feed on one of those rats over this time equals to 100 million species.

These species could be 1 worm, 1 snail, 1 weka and 1 fantail or robin etc feeding off the maggots.

This is not even mentioning the thousands of micro-organisms

that live under each dead rat.

Ms Barry seems ignorant of the secondary killing power of 1080.

Some facts to think about: 1. All those dead native species will go onto kill those that ingest them.

These figures are mind blowing.

2. You kill 200 possums with 1080 at 5 kilos each body and you have just created 1 ton of lethal bait that will go on killing native species for 9 months or more.

3. Fact: DoC’s own research tells them that to target rats with 1080 will see them back in greater numbers in 18 months to 2 years.

4. Fact: As legislation is currently written it is illegal to knowingly kill native species. This means that Ms Barry and any other Minister or em-

Jet ski registration launched A new online tool for registering personal water craft (jet skis) being used in the Waikato region will be available from the regional council.

“With jet ski use in the Waikato increasing in recent years, we want to

make it easier for people to get their skis registered in a way that saves both them and the council time,” said Waikato Regional Council’s maritime services team leader Richard Barnett.

The Waikato is one of a number of North Island areas that require jet ski registration. Auckland, Northland and Bay of Plenty also require registration. As long as a jet ski is registered with one of these authorities it will be able to operate in all four regions.

“Our region has a variety of waterways and coastal areas which experience a significant increase in traffic over the peak spring and summer period,” said Richard.

“Registration helps us understand how

gler to enjoy his own heritage.

The kiwi angler is going around muttering under his breath about how angling is being commercialized.

Hence the forming of the group Kiwi Anglers First.

The thrust of our movement is to promote the 4 or possibly 3 step plan as a framework to addressing the problem.

We cannot give our angling to the whole world as the current free for all allows, and expect to provide quality angling for kiwis. If we are going to pass on a quality angling heritage to our grandchildren, tourist angling must be controlled.

Priceless, meaning it is worth more than money and is finite.

The reality is that there is no guarantee that the jobs will go to locals.

However big business and the government’s M.O. in these situations is to bring in temporary workers from the Pacific Islands and elsewhere.

The safeguard is that what some Councils have required is a massive bond. This is to ensure that the project goes ahead. Perhaps it should also ensure that jobs go to locals.

We have to support those groups who advocate for a levy or royalty on all exported waters.

A levy that goes back into waterway enhancement. ployee can be prosecuted for ordering the use of 1080 knowing it will kill a large number of native species.

5. Fact: Ms Barry and the crown are also to carry out an illegal act under the Treaty. The active clause gives the right to gather kai-moana.

As the government cannot guarantee no contamination this is also a criminal act under the law.

6. My challenge to the Minister Ms Barry is that you and your staff stop misleading Parliament and the people of NZ into believing that 1080 only kills pests. In fact it is my belief that the long term damage that you are doing to our bush and wild-life by aerial dropping 1080 is far greater than the damage caused to our rivers by some farming practices.

Wyn Hibberd Pro Hunter

many jet skis are operating on our waterways and what resources we need to deploy to help keep users safe.”

Another advantage of getting a registration number is that it helps to identify jet skis if they’re stolen.

When people complete their online registration, they can signwrite the number on their jet ski themselves or receive a printed label from the council.

Registration numbers must be clearly displayed above the water line on both sides of the craft at all times, each number has to have a minimum height of 90 millimetres and numbers must be legible from at least 50 metres away.

Within 30 days of selling or disposing of a jet ski, people need to either transfer ownership or deregister it. Transfer and deregistration services will also be available online.

Book review

“So Far, So Good

by Craig Potton, published by Burton and Potton, Price $50.

Craig Potton, landscape photographer more especially of wilderness mountain places, a host of TV programmes

on wild rivers and wild coasts and an ardent conservationist, In 1980, accompanied by three friends, spent three-months traversing of the Southern Alps, from Milford Sound in Fiordland to the Nelson Lakes National Park, near Marlborough. Then terrain was tough, the weather at times merciless and the demands on both physique and mental fortitude high. It makes great reading but enhancing it is the author’s reflections on wilderness values and man’s place in the big scheme of things. “So Far, So Good” makes for good reading enhanced by excellent photographs.

This book will strongly appeal to anyone with an interest in mountains and wilderness.

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Early Bird Bait & Tackle Report

Temperatures are seriously dropping off now but it doesn’t seem to be effecting the fishing much.

Most fishermen are very pleased with what they are catching and that includes some very nice snapper of 55cm taken on the Mussel Farms. Kingfish are in abundance everywhere and huge shoals of Kahawai have been spotted from Thames, all the way up to Colville. From what I have been told, these shoals of fish are targeting Anchovies or small Pilchards.

One of my locals who always calls in won’t be dropping in for quite a while as he netted quite a few kilo of these bait fish, which he has frozen down for bait.

The reports from the Mussel Farms is mostly good and when the barge is working it is exceptional. The

weather is playing a part as it always does at this time of year but if you wrap up warm, you will reap the rewards. Fishing the berley trail from the barge is great but spare a thought for the guys near you who are just outside of this trail. Try taking turns; ie have one guy on the engine and when you hook up, move away and let someone else have a go.

The way it has been fishing, you will only be there for half an hour before you get your limit so let the smaller fish go and keep the bigger pannies or you’ll get home and still have to cut the grass for the missus. Flounder fishing is getting more and more popular now and with the abundance of big ýella bellies’ out there you cannot fail to at least catch a few. Whilst most people use nets to get them, they are great fun on rod and line.

We used to catch loads in Britain and it really is so easy. There are various ways to do it but if your lazy like me and want to sit down and watch the tip of your rod for a bite then all you need is a basic ledger rig with a small long shanked hook (O’Shaughnessy) and an earthworm. Flounder love them so get out in the garden and without digging up your mums flowers and vege. patch grab a dozen or so.

You should thread them onto the hook so as to completely hide everything except the barb. Flounder are great to catch and even better to eat, so give it a go with the kids as they don’t have to cast

very far as flounder come in very close to the shoreline chasing small crabs, rag worm and whatever else they may come across.

Shore fishing is great at the moment with plenty of Kahawai being caught and some very good Snapper being lost. I have attached a photo of my Grandson Michael (Handsome Boy) who went out with Mum and boyfriend on the beach at Waikawau. It only took five minutes for the first hook up and a little later for another.

Two big snapper got off and a stingray came mooching around their feet so all in all a nice couple of hours. There are still Dolphins and Orca cruising around up and down the Firth so if you do get out there get the binoculars out and get yourselves a good photo.

Now then; as I have mentioned before, I am seriously thinking of selling my business and with effect from last week it is now OFFICIALLY FOR SALE. I have put it on Trademe #1352140365 and if anyone is interested, they should contact me as soon as possible.

Almost everything is included and with a turnover of more than 300k it is a little goldmine. I have all accountants figures available so just give me a call. If fishing and hunting is what you like in life, this is for you.

You have the revenue to employ someone else if you like although I do it on my own and with the popularity the business has there is scope to expand and improve. I won’t be going far away as I intend to start a new venture doing something else.

All offers will be considered and no doubt others laughed at so if you want to talk either give me a call or come over and see what there is.

Until next time, ‘Tight Lines’.

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13

Nitrogen Fertiliser: The Elephant in the Room High nitrate levels recently measured in the Tasman’s Waimea Plains signal yet another alarm bell for the health of our waterways, and the urgent need to reduce or eliminate the use of soluble nitrogen fertilisers, says the Soil & Health Association.

“Fencing off waterways and riparian planting is all well and good, but it’s not enough on its own to reduce the nitrogen leaching through soils to groundwater. We need to stop the problem at its source, namely the soluble nitrogen fertilisers being used by many farmers. It’s the elephant in the room,” says Marion Thomson, chair of the Soil & Health Association.

“The introduction of a resource consent for fertiliser use is a step in the right direction, but what is ultimately required is a transition to more sustainable methods of farming and cropping that do

not rely on soluble nitrogen fertiliser applications,” says Thomson.

“We applaud the Freshwater Rescue Plan* launched last week, and would like to see taxpayer money diverted from the Government’s irrigation fund put towards helping farmers transition towards highvalue, climate-friendly organic and sustainable farming practices.”

“Healthier fresh water is achievable by shifting to organic and biological fertilising regimes and it’s heartening to see increasing numbers of farmers adopting these sustainable practices. Organic farming methods improve the soil biology and soil structure, which means better water retention and less nutrient leaching.

Organic and biological farmers also make use of natural fertilisers, instead of soluble nitrogen fertilisers that are more prone to leaching.”

The soil is not a lifeless medium

to pour nutrients into, according to Soil & Health. Organic farming encourages healthy living soils teeming with a biodiversity of species that all play their part in the ecosystem and the food chain, helping to make nutrients available to plants and animals.

Demand for organic food is growing exponentially as consumers seek out produce that is residuefree, tasty, nutritious and better for the environment and waterways.

Most nitrogen leaking into waterways is from urine and intensive cropping, but urine is tops. Not all soils behave in the same way but “leaky” soils do allow a high percentage of nitrogen through if it is not managed well. Urine comes from all animals and people so that should all be taken into consideration. Of course it is stupid not to manage the fertiliser nitrogen and to forget that soils are full of living things. Grass can be grown with legumes for nitrogen fixation and on the West Coast we get a bit extra from thunder storms.

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14

View the newspaper online at www.fishingoutdoors.org – and advertise online with us

Visit us on www.facebook/Fishingandoutdoorsnewspaper resulted in a million New Zealanders not voting at the 2014 election.

“A greater political will is necessary ernment and less to local councils. by the trout fishing public and all “It’s if deep concern that key aspects outdoors minded Kiwis over the waare that it is tantamount to legalising ter issue. It very probably will be a the degradation of the public’s wa- major issue in this year’s election.” terways, today and in the future. Wa- But there were some sections of sociter quality standards will be lowered. ety that denied that the public’s water Alarmingly from a democratic per- resource was in danger of degradation. spective, there will be a reduction of “Management - or mismanageRecent changes by government input from regional and district coun- ment - of waterways has a lack of to the Resource Management Act cils and thereby the public’s voice.” community will. Federated Farmpointed to a grim future for the The moves to government domination ers NZ was so often in denial and public’s water and in particular riv- were evident several years ago when indeed some spokesman portray ers say the NZ Federation of Fresh- government’s dumped the demo- trout as “evil introduced fish. Never cratically elected Environment Can- mind the introduced cows,” he said. water Anglers (NZFFA).

An annual report presented to the terbury (ECan) and replacing it with a However it was not just dairying as Federation’s annual general meet- council of government appointments. some local council still discharged raw ing recently held in Rotorua it was Graham Carter said the moves over sewage and stormwater into rivers said the inescapable perception was ECan and now the RMA were cham- and coasts. Among the “cocktail of that the proposed changes favoured pioned by government cabinet chemicals” were modern detergents economic development above envi- minister Nick Smith was ironic since and cleansing agents such as chlorine. ronmental and recreational values. Smith was charged with being Chlorine was shown in 1971 to be le in very minute quantities to trout.

Newly elected NZFFA president Gra- the Minister for the Environment. thal ham Carter of Hamilton said it was The Federation was strongly op- Other influences were detrimensignificant that the vote for changes posed to the concept of trade- tal too. Monoculture of pine forto the RMA in Parliament was nar- able water rights, i.e. the direct ests mainly now by foreign owned row and only by support from the commercialization of water and corporate companies, had a proMaori and United Futures party MPs. ability to buy and sell water rights. found effect on stream flows with The Federation’s annual re- “Water is essentially a public re- an insatiable thirst for water durport said Environment Minis- source and must remain in the pub- ing growth. At clear felling time, a ter Nick Smith and government lic domain,” said Graham Carter. runoff of silt and debris resulted. had substantially strengthened He said there were encouraging “Environmentally in mega-monthe ability of government by de- signs that the public was arousing oculture form, they are detrivolving more power to central gov- itself from the “political apathy” that mental,’ said Graham Carter.

RMA Changes Ominous for Water

Greetings, new, “season” licences went on sale 26th June, there are a number of changes we should all be aware of you can go to our web site Creeltackle.com or D.O.C web site, there have been price increases

across the board, not a big deal I do not think, I am happy to pay it .

Fishing the past couple of weeks has proven a little harder on the Tongariro due, my guess is to low water levels, the lower pools a lit-

Didymo Dave

Pukeko Flies ln books like “Trout At Taupo” there are stories dating back to the 1930’s about fishermen using flies tied with Pukeko feathers.

As far as I can ascertain the first time a fly tied with Pukeko feathers was fished at Taupo was at the Waitahanui rip one night when a Mr Craig who was visiting from the King Country used it. The pattern he used was christened Craig’s Nighttime although I understand the original fly was tied with a dark blue chenille body.

From there other patterns were developed over time such as the Scotch Poacher, Taihape Tickler and the Black Phantom and they were fantastic night flies.

For evidence, we only need to consider the magnificent 19 pound brown hen landed at the Waitahanui rip in March 1968 on a Scotch Poacher.

So all was well and these patterns were readily available in fishing stores until the Wildlife Act came along which among other things made it illegal to sell or accept do-

tle more productive than the upper river, however that will change with the next significant weather system.

With respect to Czech nymphing and the rules around this method, the leader now has a maximum length of 6m and must be attached to a fly line, my favourite zero weight line is the micro thin SUNRAY Czech nymph line, we will post within N.Z should you wish to purchase one $135 includes postage 07 386 7929, if you would like to try one come and grab our demo line or indeed a demo nymphing line 6 wt.

The Hine continues to produce some descent fish as has the TT, the Lake level is finally dropping the Waitahanui getting back to a familiar shape.

Don’t forget the Tackle shop is open at 7.30 am, 8am for a coffee or breakfast and or a takeout lunch. All our food is made on site fresh daily.

Had a hard day on the river visit the Tokaanu Hot Pools great for tired joints LOL.

nations etc for Pukeko feathers.

So, all the flies tied with Pukeko feathers vanished out of fishing stores to be replaced by imitations using dyed feathers on small hooks looking like something so anorexic and disgraceful that no self-respecting trout would even look at them.

So for quite a few years now this situation has irked me but up till now I haven’t been in a situation to do anything about it. Well I am now! My mate Chris Dickey is an avid duckshooter and I’m a fly tier so the two of us decided to tackle this situation.

We got an interpretation of the Wildlife Act from a very helpful Fish n Game ranger which confirmed of course that Pukeko can be shot by licenced shooters in the shooting season. Flies are permitted to be tied from them and fishermen are permitted to fish with them for trout.

So, Chris can shoot the Pukeko, get the feathers to me, I can tie the flies but we cannot sell or accept donations for the flies. Alright then, that’s easily solved, so with a good dose of lawful rebellion we decided to give them away! So that’s what we are doing and it’s all on at the fly tying bench.

So here’s an opportunity for you, if you would like a few flies tied with real Pukeko feathers, feel free to contact me and we will happily supply them.

Didymo Dave 027 240 960.

“clear and blue”, but are now on the cusp of being “green and murky”.

Only lakes Lyndon and Coleridge New data shows that some of the South Environment Canterbury’s were meeting water-quality obIsland’s pristine high-country lakes (ECan) water-quality objectives. jectives set under the Land and are continuing to slowly deteriorate. Lake Hawdon in the Craigeburn High Water Regional Plan (LWRP). LynHigh-country lakes tend to have high Country has gone from “clear and blue” don was on the cusp of failing and water quality due to their remoteness to “green and murky” in the last decade. had exceeded the level in 2016. and close proximity to the water source. Lake Lyndon is near Porters Pass, Canterbury’s Lake Ellesmere, one Those that are small and shallow are which snows over in the winter. of the country’s most polluted, has particularly sensitive to pressure. Lake Coleridge, a large and deep recorded a TLI score as high as 6.9.

Overall lake health is measured through high country lake, has main- The purest lakes have scores below the Trophic Level Index (TLI), a com- tained its high water quality. 1 and are typically glacially sourced. monly used water-quality measure. Lake Selfe, a high coun- Is the deterioration in Lake Ida anyThe Trophic Level Index (TLI) try lake near the Rakaia. thing to do with the purchase of is a measure for overall lake Other pressures include increas- the station by American interests health used in New Zealand. ing numbers of visitors, par- and the massive expansion in irrigaIt is based on four criteria: phospho- ticularly freedom campers. tion and fertilization that has gone rus and nitrogen concentrations, The slow deterioration of the lakes on, plus the closing down of previvisual clarity and algal biomass, was raised in 2015. Joint research ous public access to waterways. which are all equally weighted. commissioned by the Department of Between 2004 and 2006, all nine Scores range from <1, which means Conservation (DOC) and ECan, under- Selwyn lakes had TLI values beultra-microtrophic or “practically taken by the Cawthron Institute, said low 3, categorising them as “clear pure,” to >6, which means hyper- changing land use would likely in- and blue” with low nutrient levels. trophic or “extremely degraded”. crease nutrient loads into the lakes. By 2017, only two lakes had mainRecent monitoring data from nine It said low intensity sheep and tained that status. Five now have TLI Canterbury high country lakes beef farming was making way levels between 3 and 4, indicating showed all were in worse health for dairy support and crop- “moderate levels of nutrients” and two than they were a decade ago. ping, made possible by irrigation. are above 4, considered “green and The lakes, all from the Selwyn Two lakes – Georgina and Haw- murky” with higher nutrient levels. district, include some of the re- don – were “clear and blue” in ECan says they have sought to tightgion’s best known, such as Gr- 2004 to 2006, but had become en restrictions on farming activity asmere, Pearson and Hawdon. “green and murky” by 2017. around the lakes, largely in response All but two were failing to meet Lakes Pearson and Ida were also to their declining water quality.

High-country lakes water quality decline

Minister Tolley strangely silent on her responsibilities.

A national freshwater fishing organisation is wondering why local government minister, Anne Tolley is ‘missing in action’ over the legal debacle surrounding Horizons Regional Council.

Recently the Environment Court agreed with Fish & Game NZ and the Environmental Defence Society that Horizons had been issuing water quality consents that were both illegal and contrary to its own One Plan. Michael McCartney, Horizons’ chief executive, said the council stood by its

record in “driving improvement in the state of our regional environment”. An editorial in the Manawatu Standard noted ‘if Horizons is driving, it’s asleep at the wheel’.

‘The illegality of the council’s decision-making was quite stunning’ is how Sir Geoffrey Palmer described it. ‘So complete was the council’s forensic defeat, even though Fonterra and Federated Farmers fought hard to defend it, that questions must be asked as to how such a parlous state of affairs could come to pass in an organ of

New Zealand local government. The council did not follow the Act.’ The legal opinions given suggested that such activity was not accidental.

Ken Sims, spokesman for the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater Anglers, a national fishing organisation, agreed that questions have been raised that need to be answered. “Local Government acts under the auspicious of National Government” he said.

“Either Anne Tolley as the relevant Minister was unacceptably ignorant of the illegal activities hap-

pening within her own portfolio, or she was complicit with it”.

“Surely, the illegal activities of one of the government bodies she is responsible for is something that should concern her. And yet, the silence from Minister Tolley has been deafening. Not a single public statement. Is she also ‘asleep at the wheel’, or just hoping that the whole sorry mess will be swept under the carpet?” asked Mr Sims.

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Taupo Regulation changes for 2017 – 2018 For the 2017 - 2018 season starting from July 1 2017 there have been some significant changes to the regulations governing the Taupo fishery. These have been proposed by the governing body, DoC, after considerable public consultation and are now awaiting government sign-off. They will come into effect when the new season starts on July 1 (until that time the old regulations remain in force).

Licence categories Three new categories of licences have been added to the schedule which are: An international licence for non-New Zealand residents A family licence which covers an adult plus spouse (either parents or grandparents) and dependents under 18 as of July 1.

Seniors licence for anglers over 65 on July 1.

To see the full details of licences that is available visit the Taupo Notice 2017 page https://gazette. govt.nz/notice/id/2017-go2570.

Licence costs The costs of licences

have been set as follows 24 hour (day) licences for both NZ residents and International anglers: NZ$20 for and adult and NZ$4.50 for a child (under 16 as of July 1) Weekly licences NZ$42 for a NZ adult and NZ$65 for an international angler Whole season licences (July 1 2017 to June 30 2018) NZ$99 for an adult NZ$90 for a senior NZ$129 for a nonNew Zealand resident NZ149 for a family (NZ residents only) NZ$12.50 for a child under the age of 16 as of July 1 Bag limit The bag limit has been raised from 3 fish per day to 6 fish per day per angler.

Size The minimum size of fish allowed to be kept has been reduced from 40 cms to 35 cms.

Restrictions The area around river mouths that is reserved for fly fishing has been reduced from a 300 metres radius to 200 metres. The sec-

tions around river mouths closed to boat fishing will be indicated by a white, black and yellow ringed landmark post in the lake.

Definition of fly fishing No fly fisherman can use weights on their leader other than those to assist the fly to sink. No weights may be added to assist in casting the fly.

Weight added to the leader may only be in the form of split shot made from lead, bismuth or tungsten.

No leader may exceed 6 metres in length (including tippet) and all flylines used to facilitate casting must be a minimum of 3 metres in length. https://gazette. govt.nz/notice/id/2017-go2571 Full details The above is a short summary and for more details regarding definitions and rules and regulations, refer to the Anglers Notice 2017 for details regarding the rules and regulations https://gazette.govt. nz/notice/id/2017-go2571 or to the Licences, Fees and Forms Notice 2017 for full details regarding licences etc. https://gazette. govt.nz/notice/id/2017-go2570

Accessing the great outdoors The NZ Outdoors Party has applied for registration with the electoral Commission and look forward to their application being approved.

Secretary of the party and co-leader David Haynes lodged the application in late June in line with the Electoral Commissions deadlines. The party was formed in 2015 by Alan Simmons and David Haynes and now has a fast growing membership equal to many of the major parties.

Alan Simmons co-leader said “This is movement of people working hard for no reward except a love of their country and way of life. We did this without any resources or paid staff, just sheer dedication and determination to make a difference. When you think of the millions of dollars ploughed into the some of the other parties we should be really proud of our effort.”

The outdoors Party was founded on the principals of “Our seas, our rivers, our lakes, our beaches, our land, all belong to the people of New Zealand. Our access and enjoyment of our natural environment is a given, it’s part of our heritage, our culture and way of life”.

Alan Simmons said “Our way of life is steeped in on our ability to access and enjoy the great outdoors. This is what makes us uniquely New Zealand.

I want to see the New Zealand way celebrated and protected so that future generations can enjoy it as we have.”

There are many issues affecting the outdoors that are not being addressed as the other political parties scrap over what they perceive to be the major issues of the day. Slagging each other off and ignoring what is happening in back country of New Zealand.

Up until the 1980’s everyone had relatives or family on farms or in rural towns but these days many are losing touch with that unique part of New Zealand, however they want it to still be there when they go on holiday or retire.

While politicians argue the back country of New Zealand along with our fisheries have deteriorated to the point they don’t reflect the character and uniqueness that we New Zealanders want.

“Under an MMP style election system if enough people believe in us we can have the ability to influence

decision making and get new ideas into Government” said Alan. “At the very least we can air the issues of the ‘Outdoors’ during the election campaign and even if other parties pick our ideas up the ‘Outdoors’ still win.”

“We need people to believe. If hunters, fisherman, trampers, farmers believe, then we can do it. But If people don’t support us because they think we can’t win, then we won’t win.” said Alan. www.outdoorsparty.co.nz

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