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MPI’s orchestration of Deceit

By Graham Carter

David Turner

TV3 recently reported that two senior MPI officials lied about why commercial fishers were not prosecuted for illegally dumping and not reporting catches during Operation Achilles. The 13th April Newshub story compared what Dave Turner Director Fisheries Management and former Deputy Director-General

SEE INSIDE Page 2 - Smoking Wild

Ducks

Page 9 - Law and Order

Scott Gallacher said in 2016, to a recent “correction of statements” issued by MPI following Mike Morrah’s compliant to the Ombudsman.

On 17th May 2016 Dave Turner told Newshub “we ended up with a legal opinion that we could not prosecute the fishermen for discarding the fish”.

The following day Deputy Director General Gallacher told Paul Henry “where we get credible evidence to support a prosecution we do prosecute. We did not have the evidence that we could actually lodge a prosecution with, because we had legal advice that we could not use some of the camera footage.”

But following the Ombudsman’s invention, MPI confessed no such legal advice ever existed; “the legal advice did not contain a recommendation against prosecution”.

Instead, for almost a year Nathan Guy’s Ministry for Primary Industries deliberately misled, deceived and lied to the public about why commercial fishers blatantly dumping fish recorded on cameras were not prosecuted. Neither Guy nor the MPI did anything to correct Gallacher and Turner, and the MPI only did so when they were forced to by the Ombudsman.

MPI have always known that there was no legal advice recommending not to prosecute. The truth is the legal advice provided by Crown Law to MPI in 2014 was to prosecute. Guy must have known this.

Rather than front up and tell the truth Guy and MPI instead chose to deliberately deceive the public.

MPIs Director of Compliance Dean Baigent discussed Crown Law’s advice to prosecute with Dave Turner and Scott Gallacher several times in 2014. On 2 October 2014 Turner emailed Baigent making a case for warning the commercial fishers. He rubbished the Achilles investigator’s 8 September report and outlined factors against prosecution.

These included:

1. Delay in making prosecution decision doesn’t look good; 2. Make it difficult for industry to cooperate with the ministry; 3.

Seen by industry as acting in bad faith; 4. What else could be used to bash MPI; 5. The fishers seemed to have implied immunity.

Clearly the MPI is more than captured by industry, totally compromised, and unable to operate in the manner required by law and by the public of New Zealand, and totally unable to manage New Zealand’s fisheries.

In 2016 Guy repeatedly said he had full confidence in his officials, especially Dave Turner. Why would he say this? Is Guy also industry captured?

NZ First has called for a full independent, external inquiry into MPI’s role in fisheries management. But,

will this be enough to restore public faith in the Ministry. We already know about a large number of operational reports that demonstrate MPI’s unwillingness to prosecute when there is clear evidence of illegal activity.

It’s very strange that lying Turner has remained in his position as Director of Fisheries Management. Yet, as a former Police Officer and Compliance manager Turner should be sacked, because apart from lying he knows better.

While lying Gallacher inexplicably moved on from the MPI, during QC Heron’s investigation, to the Ministry for Social Development where he is now the Deputy Chief Executive for Social Housing. The perfect person to tell those forced to sleep in cars that there is no housing crisis. He should not be trusted

Report

Page 11 - Police Want

Your Guns

Page 12- Rescue

Helicopters used to Poison Deer

Page 15 - King Salmon

Process an Affront to Democracy?

Page 18 - Hectors

Dolphins Found Dead

Scott Gallacher

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ever again as a public servant.

Both are a complete disgrace and that to say nothing of those above lying Gallacher and Turner who chose silence over telling the truth.

The only reason this has now come to light is because the Ombudsman has forced MPI to reveal the information after repeated attempts to get the truth of the matter by media and the public.

Now New Zealand has a Ministry that blatantly lies and then covers up those lies, and is unwilling to own up to its mistakes, unless it is forced to do so. MPI continues to refuse to release many of these Operation reports which is believed will expose even more collusion and capture by the industry. What a disgrace!

Any Minister or Director General that Story continued on page 4...

2

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Smoking your wild ducks

Editor Graham Carter mail@fishingoutdoors.co.nz 021 02600437 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 Copyright © 2011 Fishing Outdoors Newspaper, All Rights Reserved.

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Smoked wild ducks are one of the favourite ways many duck hunters use to save their duck season’s bounty for the warmer months.

While a lot of hunters breast and skin their ducks smoking gives these birds another dimension.

Those who know their way around a smoker know that fat is a critical element in the process.

Fat absorbs the smoke’s flavour better than the meat itself.

This is why you see lots of recipes for smoked venison, pork and salmon. So does waterfowl.

Smoking whole birds give you

better results than pieces. Smoking a whole goose or duck will keep the meat more tender and juicy.

Big ducks smoke better than small ducks, although there is no reason you can’t smoke a teal.

To brine or not to brine?

If you want to eat the smoked duck for a Sunday dinner or whatnot, you can skip the brining — unless your duck is pretty lean, in which case the brine can help the meat stay moist.

But brining a duck, especially if you use pink salt, will help preserve the bird longer in the fridge and will let you smoke it longer without drying out the meat.

Smoke cooking and smoke flavouring takes a little longer than dropping a few ducks on a white-hot grill, but the end result is meat that’s moist and super flavoursome.

There are a couple of ways to add smokey flavour to your meat.

Cold smoking takes the longest time and requires controlled temperatures of 100 degrees or less.

If you’re new to smoking game, start with hot smoking. Ideally, hot smoking temperatures are around 170 degrees, give or take 10 degrees or so.

Duck breast fillets typically take about 1 ½ hours to 2 hours to reach the desired internal temperature of 135 degrees (medium-rare). Whole or split ducks will take 2 to 3 hours, depending on the size of the ducks.

You’ll find that most smokers have hot spots or areas that cook faster than others. For that reason, it’s best to rotate the racks about halfway through the cooking process so the duck meat is cooked more evenly. Of course, given the inconsistencies within most smok-

ers, rarely will the different meats be finished at precisely the same time. In other words, when each piece is done, take it out. If it’s not done, leave it in until it is done.

Smoke-cooked ducks will be moist and juicy, provided that you don’t cook them too long. You’ll know if your ducks are overcooked when they shrink up, turn grey in the centre, and become tough and dry. If that happens, don’t blame the duck. You smoked it too long.

Smoked Duck Breast Fillets This brine formula works for whole or halved waterfowl. For larger birds, allow extra time in the brine to penetrate the meat.

Preparation Time: about 15 minutes; Brining Time: 6-24 hours; Smoking Time: 1 ½ - 2 hours.

Ingredients: 12–16 duck breast fillets, skin on or off Olive oil Brine: 3 quarts water 1 cup kosher salt 1 cup brown sugar ¼ cup Italian seasoning ¼ cup garlic powder 2 tablespoons cracked black pepper 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes 4 bay leaves, crushed 1 ½ quarts ice Directions: Heat 1 quart of water in a saucepan over medium heat.

Add kosher salt and next 6 ingredients and stir until dissolved. Reduce temperature to low and simmer brine 15 to 20 minutes to blend flavours. Transfer brine to a large container, add remaining 2 quarts of water, and allow to cool. Add ice.

Place duck breast fillets in brine and refrigerate for 6 to 24 hours. Rinse

fillets with cold water, pat dry, and rub with a thin coating of olive oil.

Place fillets in a 170-degree smoker for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until internal temperature reaches 135 degrees for medium-rare.

Slice smoked fillets thinly and serve with fruit, cheese, and your favourite dipping sauce, or serve them in soft rolls with mustard and mayonnaise. Use smoked duck as you would any other smoked meat.

If you want to have a traditional smoked duck, served cold as a luncheon meat or as an appetizer, keep the temperature closer to 200°F, and not hotter than 225°F. This will still render some fat, but will not crisp the skin — duck skin will lose its crispiness anyway once you put the cooled duck in the fridge.

Allow the duck to cool before carving. Sliced thin and on the diagonal, smoked duck is fantastic as part of an appetizer plate or in a sandwich. You can also carve a whole breast, sear the skin

side in a frying pan until it crisps again, and serve it with lentils or polenta. Again, use your imagination.

4

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Cover story continued...

While lying Gallacher inexplicably moved on from the MPI, during QC Heron’s investigation, to the Ministry for Social Development where he is now the Deputy Chief Executive for Social Housing. The perfect person to tell those forced to sleep in cars that there is no housing crisis. He should not be trusted ever again as a public servant.

Both are a complete disgrace and that to say nothing of those above lying Gallacher and Turner who chose silence over telling the truth.

The only reason this has now come to light is because the Ombudsman has forced MPI to reveal the information after repeated attempts to get the truth of the matter by media and the public.

Now New Zealand has a Ministry that blatantly lies and then covers up those lies, and is unwilling to own up to its mistakes, unless it is forced to do so. MPI continues to refuse to release many of these Operation reports which is believed will expose even more collusion and capture by the industry. What a disgrace!

Any Minister or Director General that allows this sort of behaviour in his ministry does not deserve to continue to hold public office. So if Minister Guy and CEO Dunne refuse to sack Turner they should be sacked and replaced with someone who will.

Prime Minister Bill English the question many readers are asking; why is your Minister and CEO of MPI protecting Dave Turner - a habitual liar who the public have lost confidence in?

Thames mangroves utter rubbish An inspirational young woman has been behind two big cleanups in the mangroves in Thames.

She said that 90% of the rubbish is plastic bags, a mus-

sel float and sent this photo.

We need to take better care of our rubbish and recycle.

Maybe get the council need to take action?

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Take a kid fishing with Coromandel Fishing Charters

By Graham Carter

When the Te Aroha Angling Club decides to take their kids fishing they do it in style choosing Coromandel Fishing Charters.

“There’s nothing nicer than taking a bunch of kids out fishing and watching them hook up on some nice fish. Having fished for many years it is particularly satisfying to see the enjoyment these kids get,” says President Richard Cornes, “it doesn’t matter about the number of fish caught or the size, it’s about introducing them to the sport of fishing.”

The Te Aroha Angling Club is a small club with about 60 members. They run an annual fishing tournament which helps them raise the funds required to take local children out on a charter boat. This year they took out 60 children from local Te Aroha Primary Schools.

“On a trip like this some of the kids struggle to catch a fish while others are straight into it. So what the club does is they pool all the fish and at the end of the day, the fish are divided out

evenly so everyone gets some fish to take home.”

“Being able to teach them the basics: releasing the small ones; handling the fish correctly with a wet rag; using the right hook size; tying on a rig and even cutting the bait to the right size; then encouraging them to put the fish on salt ice. Pretty basic stuff to most of us but a new experience for these guys as it’s all about teaching them what is involved with fishing.”

“On the way home we stop at Tapu for the prizegiving and enjoy a meal of sausages and chips on the beach, so when the kids get home they’re almost ready for bed.”

Every fisho that I have come across talks about the magic of fishing the Hauraki Gulf and in particular fishing out of Coromandel on one of Coromandel Fishing Charters two boats the Joint Venture and the Rueben Jack, sure it’s a 45 minute drive up the coast from Thames, but if you’re after a superb fishing experience then it’s a must do trip.

Jordan and Jason the two skippers have a proven records and vast experience, coupled with valuable knowledge of where the fish are at specific times of the year, and not only do they offer year round charters they are out there most days doing it.

Most fishos can recall their experience on either boat as sometimes the competition is fierce between the boats.

On board you will find a BBQ that passengers can use, a conventional toilet, kitchen, inside and outside seating.

Joint Venture and Rueben Jack are both 51 foot West Coaster boats powered with 600hp engine and can carry from 10 to 22 people for fish-

ing and up to 32 people for scenic cruises or functions.

On board you will find a BBQ that passengers are free to use, and a conventional toilet, kitchen, inside and outside seating with tables and partial shelter on the deck to protect you from the sun.

The relatively sheltered, smooth waters and close proximity to the shore makes for a pleasurable time to be had by all, and their fishing charters are suitable for everyone and anyone, experienced or novice and both the Joint Venture and Rueben Jack are well-equipped and well-appointed boats that cater for wheel chair fishos with little difficulty. They would like to encourage all wheelies and families with younger children to come aboard.

So contact them for any special needs that you may require as they will endeavour to provide any services that you may need.

Just a quick phone call will see your fishing party booked to enjoy one of Coromandel’s prime fishing charters and they would be happy to answer any questions.

Coromandel Fishing Charters work in unison with Salty Towers Bait and Tackle shop who offer a fish filleting service along with supplying your salt ice, bait and tackle supplies and they have fresh mussels available to take home as well.

Coromandel Fishing Charters offer more than a fishing experience as there is a lot more

to the Hauraki Gulf than people imagine.

To Book your Charter call Tom or Lorraine on 0800 267624 or 027 8668001 or the office at 07 8668928.

Email: corofishing@gmail.com Coromandel Fishing Charters put up 3 x rods and reels for a random draw – 1 from each boat: Reuben Jack – Emma Nichols; Joint Venture – Scott Sdoeung; Legionaire 11 – Olivia Baillie. Joe Dennehy was also impressed with Lily Hema, and he’s sending through a rod and reel for her.

A guided meat hunt was put up by Chris Gubb Professional Hunting Guide for the heaviest snapper and kingfish: Heaviest Kingfish – 860mm - 7 kg – Cody Dyer; Heaviest Snapper – 4.854kg – Stephanie Cornes.

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Councils and CEO’s need to be held accountable Why are there massive shellfish die offs on NZ’s beachs?

Over recent years there have been many sewerage spills into our waterways.

Councils have justified these releases as accidental discharges and staff has released reports excusing the behaviour.

Waitarere Beach recently saw massive shellfish die-off as did Waihi Beach.

This is becoming more frequent by the day as huge die offs of many different species of animal, bird and marine life ... mysteriously (or so we’re supposed to believe) disappear.

Knowing the state of our country and how trashed and polluted it is, it is not mysterious and not difficult to join a few dots as to the likely causes.

Our ocean has been used for decades as a disposal bin for all manner of poisonous trash.

The quick, cost effective way for corporations to operate with little accountability. We are seeing the end results now. Not rocket science at all.

Pollution of Foxton Beach in 2012 (just further north of Waitarere) via the Manawatu River (dubbed most polluted river in the Southern Hemisphere, a river where Trenchmouth has been contracted).

Our rivers here are only 40% swimmable. The rest are not safe to do more than wade in.

Hokio Stream has become ‘an open sewer’ after years of polluting and a Horowhenua hapu says it has been heartbreaking to watch one of their streams become more and more polluted.

David Moore, a representative of the NLG and the Ngati Pareraukawa hapu, said the stream’s degradation had been a “tragedy” while a Council lawyer David Allen said that the Levin Landfill does not need to meet modern environmental standards because it has already has consent.

That comment is from a council, like most throughout NZ, that purports to recognise “the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and kaitiakitanga, providing for the relationship of Maori and their traditions with their ancestral lands, water sites, waahi tapu and other taonga” and to operate “sustainably”.

He added that there would be only minor effects to aquatic life in the stream.

Allen told the panel that the stream was influenced by contamination from upstream sources, such as Lake Horowhenua, which had a worse affect than the landfill did.

Neighbourhood Liaison Group member Malcolm Hadlum has previously criticised the council for using an argument of; “the lake and Hokio Stream are so polluted, what is a little bit more”?

Pollution on Waitarere Beach is a common sight now as farm & industrial effluent spew into the waterways daily.

A popular Northland shellfish-gathering spot is closed indefinitely due to a mysterious population collapse.

Surveyors of Ngunguru Estuary’s pipi beds could find no specimens last year over 5cm in length, compared with 10 years ago when there were about 50 pipi that size per square metre.

An incurable herpes virus has been named as the likely cause of a huge increase in juvenile oyster deaths in the upper North Island.

The $30m oyster industry announced recently that about half its crops had died.

Thousands of litres of sewage-laden stormwater has been discharged off Wellington’s south coast after a key piece of equipment failed.

Shellfish are found in the nearcoastal zone, close to where people live. It stands to reason then that they will be the first to show that

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Letter to editor Water Not For Sale

ers, i.e. corporate companies to buy up smaller players’ allocation and thus the sea is in a serious condition. Water and rivers surely is destined to emerge as monopolies in the use of Furthermore, shellfish cannot swim become a major election issue at this the resource. Despite the self promoaway temporarily to avoid occa- year’s election And rightly so because tion by MPI that our fisheries quota sional bad conditions. This article water is so vital for us all whether town system is the envy of other countries raises alarm about what has been or country. It therefore is important it has been revealed to be seriously happening and what will happen that all New Zealand pursues a policy flawed. No wonder fish stocks are ofnext. The consistent collapses of to have “sustainable” use of water and ten struggling. However the offenders, our shellfish stocks brings an im- that essential quantity for the eco- corporate companies wield strong poportant message. No longer can system and essential quality is main- litical influence by way of donations to we say that we were not warned! tained and in some cases restored. political parties resulting in their interThe fate of the Toheroa which One aspect which must be para- ests being paramount rather than the vanished in 1977, the coalminers’ mount in debate is not let water best public interest. Above all the recanary of worse things to come. go the way of fishing quotas where source suffers from mismanagement.

Cheltenham Beach after a de- quotas are tradable. Your last is- It is imperative that water not cade of full protection, the pipis sue featured about the flaws in the be allowed to become a vicand cockles vanished for good. tradable quota fisheries system. tim of “wheeling and dealing.”

Many scallop beds in the outer Haura- Being tradable opens the way - as has Each election year the Council of ki Gulf collapsed and have vanished. happened in fisheries - for bigger play- Outdoor Recreation Associations

The emaciated mussels on West Coast beaches are no longer edible.

Official fisheries statistics show how all our shellfish are threatened.

Then we have MPI denials that our fish stocks are collapsing, so our finfish will be next, and already the data is in.

Maui dolphin a subspecies of Hectors dolphin is unlikely to be saved?

Hundreds of fish and massive numbers of whales and dolphins are washing ashore dead.

With our coming elections we need to vote out those that have participated in the destruction of our forests, rivers and beaches.

However Council CEO’s need to be held accountable and we will need strong MP’s that will sack these people of enact legislation to protect our seas, rivers, and forests.

It is the bureaucrats within our corrupt government departments and councils that are making decisions that affect every one of us. CEO’s have too much power and stop elected Councillors from taking action.

These next elections could be a turning point for this country, so think wisely who you vote for.

5

(CORANZ) puts out an election charter which is sent to political parties.

Water and rivers feature strongly.

One is that “residual flow must be adequate for wildlife and fish and recreation such as fishing, swimming, canoeing etc.” Water is for multiple use by the community at large.

Despite John Key’s nonchalant shrug that “water belongs to no one” line, water belongs to the people. Water is essentially a public resource, regardless of wealth, ethnicity or social class.

Law should be enacted now to make it crystal clear that water cannot be sold and hocked off to the highest bidder.

Andi Cockroft Co-chairman CORANZ

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Billionaires Seek Kiwi Escape

by John McNab

American Billionaires are building boltholes in New Zealand because they fear social collapse or nuclear war says the UK ‘s Daily Mail.

“New Zealand - thousands of miles away from North Korea, ISIS and all the social tensions in Europe and the United States - is seen as the ideal ‘safe’ place for billionaires,” wrote Tom Leonard.

“Attracted by a remote First World country that has the potential to

be self-sufficient and is on no one’s list of nuclear targets, the superrich kings of Silicon Valley and Wall Street are buying up vast tracts of its land — in anticipation of the day when they may need to live there.”

The rich escapees are also worried about the rising reaction by the poor against the rich as evidenced in US elections and Brexit. They fear they may be a main target of the angry poor.

But it’s become a political issue in NZ where Peter Thiel, the billionaire founder of the internet payment system PayPal and an early investor in Facebook and a libertarian supporter of Donald Trump, gained NZ citizenship in 2011 and in 2015 paid $10 million for a 477-acre Wanaka lakeside estate.

It’s erupted into a scandal.

NZ First leader Winston Peters demanded answers as to how Thiel fitted the criteria for citizenship, and whether a minister signed off the decision.

Winston Peters accused the Government of “selling citizenship” to rich foreigners who invested in New Zealand, without ensuring there were proper restrictions.

Usually foreign owners erect fences and locked gates with a denial of access to fishing and hunting areas whereas beforehand permission had been granted by New Zealand farming family owners. Past experience has shown forestry areas suffer the same fate as regards access as the forest industry is largely based on foreign corporate ownership.

Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (CAFCA) in 2015 estimated at least 8.7 per cent, or 1.3 million hectares of New Zealand farmland and forestry, was foreignowned or controlled. The figure was a far cry from the 2 per cent that Prime Minister John Key gave at the time, to appease the public before last year’s election. And CAFCA warned the percentage was based on data up until 2011, and believed it may have increased to 10 per cent by 2014. Informed sources say the figure will be much higher in 2017 with increased foreign buy-ups.

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6

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Rec Licencing - the demise of MPI

By Graham Carter

Oh no, David Turner Director of Fisheries Management at MPI is on another mission. To investigate implementing recreational fishing licences.

Accompanying him is the self-appointed so-called recreational fishing representatives, Graeme Sinclair (bought and paid for by the Commercial Industry); Jeremy Helson (Commercial Fisheries Inshore New Zealand), Geoff Rowling; and Dr Randall Bess; to investigate and gauge their opinions on the introduction of Recreational Sea Fishing Licences here.

So what gives these people the right to represent the recreational anglers of NZ. Absolutely nothing. Who appointed them to voice the opinions of all rec fishers? They do not. They speak for themselves and represent no-one other than commercial fishing.

Even the Ministry of Primary Industries does not recognize them as recreational fishing representatives.

An OIA from MPI states: ‘No one group or person represents recreational fishers. There are a number of fishing organisations throughout New Zealand that represent their members but most recreational fishers do not belong to these groups; Stacey Moir, Customer Enquiries Co-ordinator MPI.’ Bess has spent the last twelve months gallivanting around the globe to the US, Bahamas and other exotic places to report on recreational fishing licences.

Do saltwater anglers want a sea fishing licence?

The somewhat thorny issue of a sea fishing licence here in New Zealand is somewhat a rather contentious issue.

Some think it’s a good idea but for significantly different reasons, more to do with clamping down on larrikins and boat safety. But for disclosing catch and being part of the industry’s ITQ system definitely not.

We are rather unique here in NZ. Currently, anybody can grab a bit of

gear and head out fishing from the shore or from a boat, and there is always going to be the argument that it is our “right” if you like to go sea fishing - fish numbers, sizes and future issues problems be damned.

Sea fishing truly crosses all social divides because it doesn’t cost anything to do it.

OK, so aside from needing a bit of fishing tackle and possibly some kind of transport to go and do it, you can’t not like how there is not some Big Brother out there making you hand over a fee each year to go (sea) fishing and monitoring what you catch to take home and feed the whanau.

There can’t be a sane angler out there who would want to pay money towards any kind of saltwater fishing licencing that is but another tax and therefore an increase in the already scary cost of living that every single one of us here is experiencing.

But is this all it is about? It certainly has nothing to do with how other countries implement licencing.

Recently Volker Kunzsch CEO of Sanford’s has said that he wants recreational fishers to report what they catch. This is clearly supported by Turner and his MPI cronies..

Commercial fishers say that the TAC for the Hauraki Gulf could be increased to 12,000 tonne of snapper and their goal is to catch the increase of 4000 ton for themselves. Another school of thought is commercial fishers can more cheaply catch the recreational catch and sell it to rec fishers.

This is what this whole issue is about.

This group of so-called rec fishing reps recently stated that bottom trawling was good for helping cockles which shows how completely retarded their thinking is.

Bess does not like the MPI. He also believes that Fisheries Management is broken and completely misman-

aged under Turner and doesn’t have the ability to manage anything. It’s likely that his report if in favour of the introduction of a licence will see the demise of Fisheries Management, which would be a good thing.

Sure we have trout fishing licences, well managed by Fish and Game, and completely stuffed up by DoC around Taupo waters. Here you have a completely different ball game and there is no good comparison for many reasons. Plus you don’t have any direct competitive by an industry that’s corrupt and out of control.

Clearly this is a move by the Commercial Fishing Industry regarding property rights and their ability to claim more quota by ascertaining how much fish recreational anglers actually catch.

Currently it is estimated that Recreational catch 6% of the TAC. And licencing will see us damned either way, no matter how much we catch. If rec fishers catch more than 6% they will lower bag limits and if we catch less they will increase commercial quota.

There are only a few anglers that go trophy fishing most just want to catch a feed.

Do we want to be taxed to go sea fishing? Absolutely not! But what do we think about paying towards potentially having more and bigger fish to catch? Another matter entirely.........

The tourist industry for sea fishing in NZ is pretty insignificant.

And if they did it would be purely revenue collecting as few would take their catch home, some Aussie anglers do - vacuum packed.

There is simply no getting away from the fact that we are seeing less of some species around and that catching the bigger specimens is getting harder and harder – this is completely the fault of overfishing, dumping and failure to report by commercial on the inshore fishery.

Visit us on www.facebook/Fishingandoutdoorsnewspaper If commercial fishing was completely banned from our inshore fishery then we wouldn’t require a licence.

Sure, there are patterns with fish movements that I don’t think we will ever understand completely. And there are some fishers that target and catch a good quantity of trophy fish. These guys are few and have put in countless hours studying the critters. If you have previous experience to go on then we can’t still can’t get away from the issues we face with regards to the numbers (or lack of ) fish that swim in the seas surrounding our glorious coastline.

There is no way is hell that rec fishing has contributed to the decline of so many species.

Councils and commercial fishing are the culprits. Councils lack of responsi-

bility in cleaning up big business waste and sewerage from their systems play a big part along with nitrogen leaching from farming and overfishing by commercial. The recent Horizon’s Council guilty verdict is a classic example.

Commercial would dearly love to catch our fish and sell it to us, but they miss the point recreational fishing is about the experience.

The US and Australian recreational angling fraternity as a whole is in a different league to us when it comes to funding, political awareness/clout, action and actually getting stuff done for the better of fish stocks and ultimate sport fishing.

Nowhere is perfect, but the fishing licence you have to buy to fish in the US and Australia has a correlation to the numbers and sizes of fish

What is going on in MPI? Last May a detailed report was released revealing wide-scale under-reporting and dumping of marine fish in New Zealand waters over six decades.

Ten months on, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is still refusing to release internal reports relevant to ongoing research, many detailing the ministry’s own investigations into reporting and dumping.

This not only obstructs academic research. It is vital that these reports are available so that all stakeholders especially, customary interests, industry players, NGOs and recreational fishers, can understand current policy settings and the way in which policy is being formulated in New Zealand fisheries. Transparency is the only way we can get to grips with the problems facing the fishing industry.

The Auckland Universities “catch reconstruction” study, part of a fifteen year-long global project, provided the best estimate to date of the amount of fish caught from 1950-2013. It revealed that more than half of the fish caught in our waters by commercial fishers has not been reported – over-

whelmingly because of dumped fish.

This is a massive waste of protein and potential export earnings, and it undermines their much vaunted Quota Management System (QMS).

Catch (along with effort) data are critical for determining the health of our fisheries. If we don’t know how many fish we are catching, we cannot say if that catch is sustainable.

The study included data from internal MPI reports, such as Operation Achilles, which raised serious questions about fisheries’ reporting processes. Many of those reports show MPI has known for well over a decade about substantial misreporting and dumping, and did not always pursue prosecutions, allegedly because of a lack of evidence.

The Auckland University have argued that reform of the QMS should follow a much-needed independent and comprehensive review of fishing policy. This argument is consistent with an internal report to the Ministry’s Strategic Leadership Team in 2008, seeking approval for a comprehensive review as misreporting and dumping posed a threat to credible fisheries

you can often quite readily catch.

There is no getting away from the fact that money talks BUT votes count.

The next political party in government has to get rid of Turner for publically lying on television and a full and complete commission of inquiry needs to be launched to investigate the corruption and collusion with the commercial industry.

This second report by Bess will cover his recommendations into licencing, however when Bess does his third report his true colours will shine.

The proposal to have a recreational fishing licence has nothing to do with recreational fishers or stock conservation it is about increasing the catch and extra profits for corporate fisheries quota owners. management. The review, however, did not take place. The QMS is clearly not working if we cannot have confidence in reported catch figures, or in MPI’s oversight of that reporting.

They are aware that there are more than 100 other relevant reports, presumably funded by the public purse, but not publicly available. They have been requesting 14 of these reports from MPI since May 2015, and cannot understand why they are still not being made available almost two years on.

The requested reports are Operations Apate; Apate II; Blade; Box II; Bronto; Horse; Kenwood; Mega; Mini; Maxi; Purse; Trios; Turn Up; and Uzi. MPI’s response to the original OIA request asking for a list of compliance operations and copies of various reports, was that it “would take a minimum of three to four months’ work”. They considered this excessive. Even so, they narrowed their request primarily to a list of compliance operations and reports that were “easily accessible and on hand”, but MPI refused this request as it needed “substantial collation or research”.

Compiling a list of compliance operations, and the photocopying of on-hand reports, did not strike us

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View the newspaper online at www.fishingoutdoors.org – and advertise online with us as particularly difficult. So, they followed up with a complaint to the Ombudsman, with whom they worked to further narrow their request to the 14 specific reports listed above.

However, MPI has failed to comply even with this request, with the striking exception of Operation Horse, which appears to be the only one of these operations that resulted in a prosecution.

Why such a dilatory approach to their request? These are public good

reports, and there is, or should be, nothing confidential about them.

The answer may lie in the outcome of the Heron Report. Released last September, the Heron Report into MPI’s handling of three dumping and misreporting cases concluded that the law prohibiting discards “appears to be regularly disobeyed”. It included an email from MPI director fisheries management, Dave Turner, saying “discarding is a systemic failure of the current

system and something we have not been able to get on top of from day 1 of the QMS…if we found the golden bullet to stop discarding, we would probably put over half of the inshore fleet out of business overnight”.

The Chief Ombudsman has said that OIAs are “not a game of hide and seek”. What is going on in MPI? Why the seeming obstruction of standard OIA requests?

Government has negotiated away our democratic rights Most New Zealanders don’t yet realize that the Government has negotiated away the democratic control of our land and resources; this includes our water, and many saltwater species.

People that own big and large businesses employing more than 50 people think the National government is great. And they are right as the National government that allows them to walk over their employees, keeping wages down while putting more profits in their coffers.

Kiwis need to wake up that it will be too late over the next few months as National race to pass legislation on many issues that will see your typical wage earning kiwi suffer even more.

When “honest” Billy and his Maori Party make a decision, that’s it, moaning doesn’t help, you had your chance to do something about it, and, as usual, ah, nah, she’ll be right.

One more term under this cowardly National Party will see the last “shreds” of democracy flushed down the toilets of parliament.

A vote for National, Labour or the Greens, is a vote for Maori and the Maori party. While most white kiwis are happy with the ‘treaty settlements’ and righting the wrongs of the past – it has gone on for far too long. All we see and hear about is that the elite self-

elected Maori ripping off their own people. We need a political party that determines an end date so we can get on with our lives as ‘kiwis’. This long drawn out pilfering is causing separatism and apartheid.to prevail amongst the genuine Maori and white kiwis.

John Key supposedly funded terrorism and assassinations; with 13.7 Million dollars of our money; that went to the Clinton Foundation; that also funded and ran a paedophile ring.

Now Unelected PM Bill English is invading everyone’s privacy through their bank accounts.

“You may know society is doomed when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing; when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favours; when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you; [and] when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice.”

Ayn Rand, ‘Atlas Shrugged’, 1957 If you keep your head down because you’re too spineless to risk being called a racist by actual racists, this will be the outcome sometime between 2018 and 2025 (when the truckie

“king” confidently predicted the tribes would have joint sovereignty).

With Nick Smith imposing co-governance on every council, Chris Finlayson using false history and animist drivel to justify extortionate Treaty claims, and the water albeit to fall into separatist hands, the reverse takeover is nearly complete.

The only thing that can stop the surrender and derail the Treaty Gravy Train is if we, the people, force our snivelling excuses for leaders to let us have our say on the matter - and fast.

This will be the result if the National surrender monkeys prevail. Nick Smith’s RMA amendment will hand sweeping and permanent power to every tribe and hapu. What is that except a surrender of sovereignty?

The most prolific litigant in New Zealand is also the sole appointer of New Zealand judges and his touch Christopher Finlayson now is having a profound effect on the nation’s jurisprudence. The New Zealand AttorneyGeneral appoints every judge in a secret process which recommends he consult with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court but notably entails no public vetting or confirmation and no public record of his/her considerations.

I’m gunna vote for National, but not for thirty years. (There’s a good chance

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Visit us on www.facebook/Fishingandoutdoorsnewspaper I will be dead by then anyway!) Hopefully this government will be dead on 23 September 2017. Can’t these visionless dithering National politicians

do anything for the here and now, yet another plan for the ‘never never’.

When you are Smith’s age you have to make 20 year promises

7

to make sure you don’t have to face failure when you are Bridges age you have to make it 30 years Opinion by Graham Carter

How to End Gun Crime in New Zealand

By Mike Loder

Criminals possess and use illegal firearms in New Zealand for three reasons.

They have a desire for them. They have the money to act on that desire. They have no fear of acting on that desire.

That’s it. That is all you need to know to both understand the problem and to fix it. Anything else is white noise.

Let’s look at the first reason. It itself has three aspects. Criminals first desire guns because they are totems of power.

The second desirable attribute of a firearm for a criminal is that it allows them to impose their will on others. To make them fearful of testifying or to understand the penalty for non-payment of an invented debt.

The third criminal benefit to owing a gun is the ability to defend your drug territory. The illegal drug business brings in millions of dollars.

The next cause of criminals using guns is that they can afford to act on their desire for them. Only recently our gangs were found to be hiding away millions of dollars in assets, under fake identities.

Let’s examine three recent cases to remove all doubt of where the real problem here can be found.

Firstly a man is sentenced to his fifty fifth prison term for being found with a stolen, sawn off shotgun.

Another man provided guns to a gang and staged a burglary to cover his despicable actions. Another man was just found to have a stockpile of illegal arms, with his marijuana grow room. Similar examples are many and they are consistent enough to send a message. It has been heard.

As it stands now our criminals have no fear of stealing guns. No fear of providing guns to criminals. No fear

of possessing illegal guns. No fear of ing a lie of the Police Union crying wolf. using guns in crime. Why would they? Oh look. It has not risen in twenty years.

So the only aspect of the trin- Column Two: Here are the actual ity responsible for gun crime that numbers of gun murders in New we can affect – instilling fear to Zealand – sourced from the NZ Poact on the criminal’s desire to use lice – for the last twenty years. So the guns - we have chosen not to. rate clearly wavers around an averYet the Law and Order committee age of 8 – but seems to be dropping is about to report back with their of late. Despite more population, new recommendations on tackling more guns and more gun owners. the criminal use of guns. It won’t Column Three: Annual Apprehensions include an increase in penalties. for Crimes Involving Firearms. No inIn their fifty seven point submission crease in twenty years. Since 2015 the to this body, the Police Union did not police have published their own data mention punishing criminals once in Mike Loder enjoys tea, cats and tarnineteen pages. The quarter of a mil- get shooting with friends. The only lion shooters in New Zealand have sport that he can enjoy on equal terms now had enough. A gutsful. They have with them from his wheelchair. He banned Police from ranges. They will would like to keep doing that please. soon vote. Because the focus must change. We are now Column One demanding fixed, manColumn Two: Column Three: 1994 10 datory, non-parole sen1994 16 1994 2562 tences for those who 1995 12 1995 9 1995 2492 terrorise us with arms.

1996 12 1996 9 1996 2879 It is a disgrace that suc1997 7 1997 13 1997 3102 cessive governments 1998 6 1998 4 1998 2917 have failed to do the 1999 3 1999 5 1999 2722 obvious for so long. Yet 2000 11 2000 7 2000 2487 they insist on punish2001 10 2001 6 2001 2334 ing the lawful, with new 2002 9 2002 10 2002 2546 laws, in the hopes of af2003 14 2003 7 2003 2802 fecting those who live 2004 11 2004 4 2004 2880 outside of it. Madness.

2005 11 2005 9 2005 2904 Below are the actual figures – from the NZ Police.

Column One - reporting the number of times that their officers have been assaulted with a firearm. By year. For the last twenty years. Mak-

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

8 17 6 25 8 6 9 9 11

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

9 5 7 11 7 3 3 8 5

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

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Government Shooters – the deercullers

By Maureen Coleman

reunion – if they lasted a season, they were good buggars and cut out for the job.

How times did change though. We often hear that said now and in today’s world of technology but looking back to when the first ‘cullers’ started A tent camp fashioned with poles and canvas back in the 1930’s, they really were The term ‘deer cullers’ is a colloquial a pioneering phase that set name for the job carried out by “Gov- many changes in motion. ernment Shooters” as they were offi- There was very little support for these cially known back when the need for guys; many of them just teenagers a serious reduction in deer number when they pulled on a pair of hobnail was required. This line of work at- boots, shouldered a sugar sack pikau tracted men from all walks of life – with a few clothes in it and with rifle some seeking adventure, some it was in hand, they’d meet a Field Officer at a designated location and await instructions on where they’d be based for the next few months. Work in the block normally meant that a tent camp or shelter of some description needed to be built – no helicopter loads of gear or building Home Sweet Home for these hardy lads…….. material on this watch. It was canthe dream job to be employed and vas at best if you were able to get a paid for their ‘recreation’, others were pack horse into the area where you’d sent by family members to ‘straighten be based, poles were cut on site and them out’ or for some, it was just a job what home comforts could be assemthat they would either love or hate. bled or fashioned from the surroundSome lasted less time than it took for ing bush was what made this home. them to arrive on the Road Services For many they’d never cooked a meal bus; many thrived on the space and in their lives so this too was a steep the opportunity and as several were learning curve – skinny venison heard to say over the weekend of the didn’t do much for building muscle nor provide tasty meals day after day but these guys made the most of it. Rice was also a pretty staple dietary component so yet again – there is not a lot that you can transform from skinny venison and boiled rice!!!

Needless to say when the Pack Boy turned up with the horses and a fresh supply of stores about once a month (at best) it was a very welcome sight.

Deer numbers though were plentiful – in fact they were almost plague proportions in some areas and they were decimating the native bush – not to mention the land that was being broken in by An easy way to fill in time…. those returning from the

The Domini carrying out an

airdrop

war and the families that had done their best to maintain life back home while ‘their boys were away on active duty’. Large tallies of deer were shot, the trusty .303 being the weapon that every culler back then had. That early rifle with its open sights was what started the life than many would aspire to follow in the years

Tail Burn –goat tails destined for the fire….

and decades to come. In these early days many of the deer were shot and skinned so not only did the guys have to do the leg work on this hills to get the deer, but they became dab hands with a knife and skinning the animals so that their hides could be dried and used in the aviation industry and a whole raft of other uses now that the world was in a post war phase!!!

Move forward to the 1950’s and Dip Flat, an ex-hydro camp in the mountains behind Nelson became the training ground where the new wave of keen young hunters and wanna-be deer cullers would migrate to as they learnt the ‘art’ of becoming a Government Shooter. This location certainly dished it all up in abundance – from the scorching hot of summer to the

technology had improved somewhat and rather than the hunters needing to harvest the skins off the animals, just needed to take the tails as proof of their work. Naturally this enabled a huge amount more ground to be covered, they travelled light, they walked for miles and many used much more than just the hours of daylight – often leaving very early to get into areas they knew held good numbers and then not leaving until it was simply too dark to shoot any longer. Huts too by now were becoming more the ‘norm’ than the earlier tent camps but many of these structures were very meagre in their capacity of a hut as we know them – but who was complaining; it kept most of the rain off, generally it kept the keas out but the mice still managed to find their way into the rice stores – alas that was part of the life of these blokes in the hills.

Stocking up the food cupboards was now done via the aerial method in many places but this also necessitated that someone needed to wait around the hut when the scheduled drops were due but weather or any number of things could delay this and many a long boring day was had at a hut cutting firewood or doing odd jobs while the wait continued…..when they’d rather have been out hunting. These drops were often done by the likes of Popeye Lucas and his trusty Auster or in other areas the Domini plane, very similar shape to the DC3 was kitted out with items of food cocooned in hay and stowed in sacks and sent on their way with a small parachute as they plane located the area where the hut was. To say that not all of these air drops went to plan would be a bit of an understatement however, the success rate wasn’t too bad and putting up with the odd bag of flour that ended up in the creek or (in one such case that I have heard of, down the dunny) was overlooked with typical culling humour.

The tales of these early and seemingly invincible and adventurous hunters of the 40’s and 50’s no doubt A later day air drop about to head into the hills lured many another wave of thick snow covered terrain and single Good Keen Men into the hills and man’s huts in winter – a white blanket throughout the 1960’s there were coated everything near and far. There training parties based in nearly all was too of course the ‘ring tester’ major forested catchment throughup behind the camp that everyone out the central and southern north needed to be tried on and many a island. The South Island too had their gallon of sweat and blood as well I’m training parties although by the mid sure was left up on that godforsaken 1960’s, Dip Flat had been dispelled hill. The views once up there were with for more localized training parimagnificent and all those who ‘sur- ties based on the West Coast, Cantervived’ the training and initiations at bury and further into Southland as Dip Flat, speak of it with a fondness well. Once a hunter had proved his that could only come from those worth and tallies of tails were proof who are suited to a life in the hills. of this, he was first promoted to a Many of these hunters from all 2nd grade hunter, then 1st grade, around NZ and some from overseas then headman of a hunting party, all as well developed a love of the high with the appropriate wage rise. The country and the mountains while at next step may be the job of a Head Dip Flat and elected to do their cull- Man of a training party and hence ing work in the South Island – such was responsible for a new group of was the new found magnet in those trainees that were about to master mountains, the huge shingle their trade in the hills. This was not slides and vast river valleys. Some always an easy task as these guys however ventured back to the North had no say over who they got as a Island and the forest clad hills of the trainee – they simply had to deal Ureweras, Tararuas and the like. Born with what they got and they got was the era of Barry Crump and many some characters too without a doubt others who thrived on the mag- As a Head Man of a training party nificent bush hunting opportunities their work as a culler was not disthat the North Island offered. By now pelled with completely – they were

For all of these guys of hills and valleys, wet weather and time confined to the hut or tent camp was something they all remember well.

No such thing as cell phones to while away the hours, the transistor radio was their only real contact with what was happening in the outside Pack race at the Nelson reunion almost 50 years ago world, bar that of the occasional tramper still required to put in a full day’s or recreational hunter (loopy) that work and an good tally of tails ex- may pass through the area. On the pected when the Field Officer came other front EPRIBS or GPS units visiting each month for ‘tail burn’. were not even on the radar at that Huts were kept clean and tidy with stage and most cullers didn’t even a good supply of firewood at all know how to use a compass – suftimes and any hunter that failed at fice to say that their maps resembled this duty was usually made to feel something more in keeping with a pretty unwelcome and left the job on geographical stick-man drawing. The their own accord after a short time. creeks and rivers were their highThese hunters were often in the ways, the ridgetops their landmarks blocks for months at a time – only and everything in between had venturing out for 10 days over Christ- the quarry that ensured that they mas and then back in again till the got paid at the end of the month.

A huge leap into the ‘modern era’ was the arrival of the venison industry and the ‘kerosene cowboys’ that were an integral part of that.

With typical kiwi ingenuity, the helicopters had their uses extended tenfold and became hunting machines, venison recovery maPreparing for a much-awaited Air Drop in the 1960’s. chines and in latend of the season. Again for many ter times, live capture machines that of these guys, they were pretty catapulted brave or brainless young green on the culinary front so life men out of them as they caught live in the bush was a steep learning hinds in particular for the deer farmcurve as they all took turns at cook- ing industry. Sad but true, this phase ing the meals, preparing the food of the deer history in NZ saw proband taking on the domestic duties ably more fatalities than all the rest such as cleaning up the hut etc. of the decades and eras combined.

The money involved in the live capA Culling season ran from spring ture was huge, the risks taken were to the start of winter and they guys extreme at times and they often paid were expected to work a minimum of off; but not always. Sad to say that 48 hours per week and their pay for many a good hunting mate or pilot that was an average wage but was did not get to make old bones but made better by the fact that, with by god many of them lived life on food and ammo supplied, they only the edged and to the fullest while it needed to buy tobacco and boots was there – may they rest in peace. as often as they needed them. Even As the next couple of decade came if they worked longer or got better and went, the whole face of deer tallies, their wage was not allowed to culling changed markedly. Internal be more than that of a Civil Servant Affairs had long changed to the Forof the day. Individual contracts were est Service and by now we were all not even on the horizon for these getting used to the name Departguys but they loved the work they ment of Conservation – all effecdid and by the time they’d had a few tively the same body; just carrying days back in civilisation, had drunk a different name. Goats were now their full of amber ale or spent way more of a target and a threat. The too much on a car that they couldn’t deer numbers had become manageeven use for the next 6 months; they able due to the earlier arrival of the yearned to get back into the hills meat hunters and then the chopper again. Many even ‘went hunting’ for boys and the wars that came with a holiday – such was the love of the them that changed the entire face outdoor and the lure of what was of culling deer in the back country. around the next bend in the creek. Goat Teams were being sought to

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control the thriving mobs of feral goats the regularly traipse between farmland and National and Forest Parks – creating mass destruction on the vegetation of choice wherever they went. As we all know they breed more like rabbits than deer so the numbers can explode in a short period of time but with skilled hunters and bailing dogs also working superbly well on the goats, these cullers too were able to stamp their mark on yet another chapter in the book of life that is that of a “Deer Culler”.

Today the teams are smaller, they are much more transient as they can, and do often work the full length and breadth of the country as various operations are put up for tender. Stints in the hills are now usually for about 10 days at a time, Jason Hart of BCL has a woman as part of his hunting team and all members use dogs to help find and bail the goat. Silencers are on the rifles these days and the calibre has moved down from the

burgeoning years of the .303 to most commonly .222 or .223’s. Cellphone coverage is not an uncommon factor in the hills, polar and micro fleece gear is the norm on the clothing front and all the hunters are kitted out with GPS units, with each animal taken being plotted on the unit and where it was shot. Choppers are a regularly used tool these days for transporting teams and gear into the hills for their hunting stint if road access is not safe or practical – oh how things have changed but with such loyalties, these guys are still very much of the Deer Cullers ilk and are warmly regarded as part of the team and rightly so. They are out there for the same cause, they are enduring the seasons and the weather the same as their earlier mentors and idols did and our bush and the back country are a much better place for the long hours and sweat that they have left out there.

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9

The Law and Order Report - a waste of taxpayers’ money The Law and Order Report does not meet the terms of reference for which it was set up to answer.

Instead, virtually without exception, it makes recommendations that target only legal possession of firearms and creates solutions that are unworkable, expensive, and impracticable and will make no difference to criminal firearm misuse.

This report represents a waste of taxpayers’ money and Parliament’s time. The body of the report is some 18 pages which for the most part do not answer the terms of reference.

The analysis is superficial and some in areas flawed. In other areas, exactly how the committee reached its conclusion is hard to ascertain.

The select committee has not referenced any of its conclusions to the evidence it received. We do

not know, for example, where the recommendation that ammunition purchases are recorded came from and the basis for this. By not doing so, it is hard to see the basis for any recommendation.

None of the recommendations are costed. Costing is important as expensive measures reduce Police budgets for other more pressing matters for example ensuring that burglaries are investigated. It will be recalled that the Canadian Long Gun registry debacle meant vast swathes of the Police budget was used in an ineffectual registry that could have been used for detecting and preventing crime.

A self-funding system will be expensive - and we have seen how the Canadian registry cost billions. The expense of this will act as a deterrent

National Flyfishing Champs

Sport Fly Fishing New Zealand have announced their 2017 Nationals winners.

The results: Congratulations to Cory Scott 1st Clay Austen with plenty of meat for the freezer, Junior member TVDA.

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the 2017 National Champion, Dan Comer 2nd and Brooklyn Rundstrom 3rd, followed by Paul Dewar 4th and Sam Bourne 5th.

National River Champion Cory Scott National Lake Champion Dan Comer Huge thank you to all the controllers who gave up their time so that the champs could take place. Special thanks to Tim Rich as the computation organizer, and to the landowners who gave us access to the river beats.

to compliance, and the cost shortfall will have to come from the existing Police budget with flow on effects on crime prevention and detection.

Overall there is little in this report COLFO supports. While we do endorse and agree with some of the measures which target gangs and narcotics, we are of the view that this report is flawed and is unsafe to make law on.

The report for the most part does not meet its terms of reference.

It certainly seems from the document that Labour and the Green’s have ‘invented’ their own ‘secret anti-firearm agenda’; along with National sitting on the fence!

If National or Labour become a majority government in the next elections this will become law.

There is no difference be-

tween them as the history on this issue goes back to 1995.

We need all gun and firearms owners to get on the same page and vote this out or suffer the consequences.

We need to be resolute on this matter and make sure both National and Labour are fully aware that they will not get YOUR vote because of this proposed policy.

Read the Full Report from Council of Licenced Firearms Owners Inc. http://www.fishingoutdoors. org/hunting-information/ hunting-articles/2482-the-lawand-order-report-a-waste-oftaxpayers%E2%80%99-money.html and the Inquiry into issues relating to the illegal possession of Firearms in NZ. from Police National Headquarters

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BRAG PAGE

Went fishing out from White> Island on Saturday, here’s a few pics of the catch.

Send your photos into mail@fishingoutdoors.co.nz

Even caught two blue nose on a lure

< Brad Thompson using Coastal Baits squid - gotta be 16 pounds - Photo credit Bex Barbarich

Sandra Porima with her first snapper >

Photos taken of marlin caught during the Whangamata Ocean Sports Clubs 10-12 days of marlin madness at Whangamata. < Whangamata Ocean Sports Club’s annual spearfishing competition raised $700 cash from their fish auction which they donated to the Whangamata Coastguard.

The weekend was a huge success < Coastguard member George accepting the cheque from Vice-Commodore Trevor Butler.

18kg kingfish by Karl and Nikki on a penn rod and reel st in Rocky Bay Auckland

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Shooters Beware – Police want your Guns

Richard Prosser MP New Zealand First Spokesperson for Outdoor Recreation

This opening morning, as you load up the ute and head for the mai-mai, take a good long look at that semiauto shotgun you’ve used every first Saturday of May for the last twentyodd years. If Police and the Police Association get their way, this will be the last year you’re allowed to own it on your current licence. And when you get home, take a look at the

10/22 you keep for bunnies as well – that’s about to be taken off you too.

Parliament’s Law and Order Select Committee have just completed an Inquiry into the Criminal Misuse of Firearms, or so the title would have us believe, and produced a report containing a number of recommendations to Government. When made into law, these recommendations will severely curtail the rights of law-abiding firearms licence holders to own and use semi-automatic rifles and shotguns – and they are based largely on submissions made to the Inquiry by the New Zealand Police and the Police Association.

In fact, the Inquiry focussed almost entirely on the lawful use of firearms by properly vetted and approved licence holders, and said little to nothing about the criminals who were supposed to be what it was about.

Police and the Association began with the claim that the most important source of firearms for the criminal fraternity was theft from licenced owners. They were unable to produce any facts or figures to back up this claim, because no such data

exists – partly because such records are not kept, but mostly because, as we all know, it simply isn’t true.

They failed to address the Police’s own pitifully inadequate burglary clearance rate – around 7% at best – and virtually ignored the subject of illegal importation, despite being repeatedly informed that, at best, only around one in four shipping containers arriving in this country are ever inspected.

At some bigger ports on busier days, that figure may be as low as 1 in 100.

Add to that the fact that literally hundreds of yachts, fishing boats, and other private vessels visit these undefended, unpatrolled shores every year, and the fact that hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of illegal drugs find their way into New Zealand annually without detection, and it is an argument that simply does not stack up.

New Zealand’s coastline is longer than that of the continental United Sates (minus Alaska) and much if not most of it is never monitored by anyone.

We do know that New Zealand, despite having one of the higher rates of legitimate firearms ownership in the world, has one of the lowest rates of firearms

Visit us on www.facebook/Fishingandoutdoorsnewspaper related crime – and that the numbers relating to that have been steadily falling for the past two decades.

The weapons of choice for criminals in this country are invariably sawnoff shotguns and cut-down .22 rifles.

Many – such as they are, because the numbers have never been more than roughly estimated, and do not appear to pose a glaring problem for ordinary New Zealanders in the streets – are very old and have been circulating in the criminal underworld for a considerable number of years.

Police however have apparently decided that MSSAs, and semi-automatics in general, are the real problem, and the solution is to declare them all to be E-category, requiring you, the law-abiding user, to upgrade your licence, provide – and have accepted – a special reason for needing a semi-automatic, buy a new safe, be inspected every year, and naturally pay a bigger fee. Or fees.

It gets worse. Police also want to bring back the Permit to Procure system that we had before licences were brought in in 1983. You remember those licences? They were lifetime licences. Then they became ten-year licences. Now they want to cut that back to five years.

Criminals will be queuing up to apply.

The Permit to Procure system proposed will apply to transfers between licence holders, as well as to new purchases – for which, if you want to keep that semi, you will also need to provide, and have accepted, a special reason, despite already having a licence. Transfers, by the way, includes lending your shotty or 22 to your mate who is also a licence holder.

Oh, and it will apply to ammo as well.

And registration is coming back! Except that they’re not calling it that; no, what will happen is that the Arms Officer will record the serial numbers of your firearms every time you buy a new gun or have your security inspected, and this information will be stored in a database. So it’s not a Register, it’s a database that records serial numbers against firearms licences. Which is, um, a Register, isn’t it? Criminals will be queuing up to register their guns, I’m sure of it.

The Report from the Select Committee is not law, yet. But given a majority in Government, both National and Labour, supported by the Greens, will make it law. You can take that to the Bank. This Inquiry was initiated by National, supported by National, supported by Labour, and supported by the Greens.

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Only New Zealand First opposed it, and we opposed it in its entirety.

This article is a blatant appeal for your Party Vote for New Zealand First, this September. I make no excuse or apology for that. We are asking for your support because we support your rights, because we understand that lawful firearms users are not the problem, because we know that the changes suggested will make no difference to criminal offending, and because we have skin in this game as well.

I don’t believe that New Zealanders will simply roll over meekly and accept the Government taking their guns away, the way the Australians did, the way the Brits did. But there is only one way to stop this happening, and that is to ensure that neither National nor Labour holds a majority whip-hand in Parliament after the election this year.

New Zealand’s gun laws have been widely described and accepted as the best in the world.

Let’s keep them that way.

NZ First will dump the Report in its entirety, and the plan at the moment is to take the Arms Act back to what it was before various Governments started playing around with it.

Politics Smith’s RMA reform Govt Stumbling Block

by Rupert Pye

Environment Minister Nick Smith rammed his Resource Legislation Amendment Bill through Parliament by one vote. At the time of writing, the bill will almost certainly be passed by Parliament with the Maori Party sycophantically propping it up. From the fishing and hunting public’s viewpoint, the bill removes any involvement by regional and district councils in matters like water, rivers and their well-being and of course hot issues like 1080 poison. Government will have full dictatorial power. It is a blow to democracy.

But just don’t take my word for it. Stephen Franks, who is a recreational deer hunter, was scathing in a column he wrote for NZ Centre For Political Research. Stephen Franks is a principal of Wellington law firm Franks & Ogilvie and a former ACT MP. His opening salvo was “New Zealand is just waking up to what desperately bad legislation it is.” He was especially critical of the power being given to iwi.

“But the more critical problem in the Bill is its transformation of local government democracy into racial power sharing. The Bill gives every local authority exercising RMA powers 18 months to reach a power sharing agreement with any iwi or hapu that asks for one. If they can’t agree the agreement will be dictated by forced mediation, with “guidance” from the Minister-- There is nothing in the legislation to protect citizens from permanent subjection to the religious/cultural/venal demands of unelected iwi leaders with their hands on some of the most critical levers of local government.”

Stephen Franks remarked on the inexplicable determination to push ahead with Nick Smith’s Bill, especially just before an election.

He predicted Winston Peters will capitalize and attack National’s lack of credibility on RMA issues.

“Why on earth is the government handing this gift to Winston?” asked Stephen Franks.

I could not agree more.

MPI - the art of denial The art of denial is something many people have perfected over time.

If you are going to be in politics or public relations for corporate management, you will need the necessary skills of denial in your CV. A skilled person can use denial in an attempt to explain sudden memory loss or even board strategized deliberate memory loss. Denial is usually used to protect one’s self, your industry or the public image of the political group of which you are a member.

There is a very nasty side effect of denial, and that is if the issue you are trying to hide through

the process of denial doesn’t go away you are caught with very few options for damage control.

One very good classic example of the high cost of denial is the fishing industry and its fall from grace. The fishing industry has always maintained its innocence and has always denied any part of the fishery offences of dumping, high grading, under-reporting, dolphin deaths and bird loss.

Their complete faith in simple denial in the face of over-whelming evidence to the contrary proves their level of arrogance.

If you want to deny, be sure you

Another writer in the NZCPR newsletter was accountant Frank Newman. He bluntly said “In my view the National Party has made a strategic error in passing this unpopular amendment by making the RMA a bigger “Frankenstein”.”

“By allowing itself to be ruled by the likes of Nick Smith, the National caucus could well find itself kowtowing to Winston Peters.”

Interesting months lie ahead.

I just hope there apathy of the electorate is shed. Too many are indifferent and the fishing and hunting public is no exception. Greek philosopher “Before Christ) Plato once said “The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.” Evil? In the broad sense so you can substitute dictators, corruption and so on. “Fishing and Outdoors” has been bringing you in-depth exposures of MPI and sea fisheries mismanagement. The 1080 gravy train is corrupt. And others too.

Time to wake up.

can get away with it. Or at least know what you are denying.

This is an outright denial which is not an outright denial and is a good tactic on a subject so complicated that the general public is clueless of what exactly the accusation is.

An even better way to make a denial is to complicate a complicated subject further so that even those who have a faint inkling of what the fishing issues are get woozy.

An OIA request forced the release of camera footage on public TV of all those offences being committed deliberately by commercial fishers; the public backlash was worldwide. The cost in monetary terms will be ongoing and in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

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MPI have been forced to launch a systems review as well as the introduction new video camera’s for every inshore fishing vessel with stricter compliance on those fishers.

The commercial fishers themselves have lost something more valued to them, and that is water space.

The commercial fishers have already lost vast amounts of water space on the West Coast of New Zealand in mammal reserves introduced for the protection of the Maui Dolphins and are set to lose much more as the ‘recreational only reserves’ take effect at the end of this year.

Also, the new surveillance cameras on board all inshore vessels will see many commercial fishers leave or be forced to exit the industry because their method

of harvest is too indiscriminate and would not stand up to the scrutiny of eyes on fishing.

There has been $48m spent so far in an attempt to develop new net systems to satisfy the recreational and conservation lobby groups. But this system also caught and killed three common dolphin recently.

The new anti-seal trap doors installed in the fishing nets to catch Squid in the ocean around Campbell Island also failed, with the death of a Sea Lion trapped in those doors.

Salmon farmers have always claimed that the lobby groups were exaggerating the fouling under their static farms. Now some of the Salmon farmers with excessive fouling under their farms have been caught and asked to

Book review

Book Review - Hammer Guns in theory and practice

By Diggory Haydoke My introduction to firear ms started with a few workmates who were keen hunters and shoot-

ers. They were fanatics and we made parts for powder keys and bullet molds in our spare them when I was an apprentice printer.

The fascination was gripping and lead to myself owning a replica .45 Kentucky Plainsman rifle of which I had a lot of fun.

Guns and firearms are part of New Zealand. They play a huge part in the lives of many young kiwis, learning how to be responsible and how to handle firearms for shooting ducks and hunting deer.

In terms of classic firearms, the Hammer gun is a relatively primitive, totally hand-built, unique, supremely elegant and satisfying work of art; but it also has some genuine advantages over all the expensive modern guns used today.

Using hammer guns, explains Diggory, should not be seen as an affectation, for they remain the best guns

relocate at considerable expense to locations of higher current flow.

After years of denial, the Salmon farmers are now finding themselves in a position of finding a new home and applying for a new resource consent without public support.

There is a lesson to be learned in this for the other primary industries, Dairy, Forestry, Aquaculture if they continue to deny their environmental issues and don’t address them, they could see the NZ public objections making resource consents for future primary developments too higher risk for investors.

All current and future resource consents may be issued by Councils but it is clear that without public support these resource consents are nothing but expensive pieces of paper that can be taken away.. ever made – and today they are still in many ways better than anything else available, if you apply yourself to their use and ownership in the right way.

“I believe that nothing made in the twentieth century compares favourably with the best hammer guns made by the real artisans of the British gun trade: made in the days before celebrity engravers signed their work or CNC machinery standardized every part. What I invariably pick up and take shooting is an 1870s under-lever hammer 12-bore.”

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1080 fast-track an attempt to silence opposition The National government announcement that responsibility for granting 1080 poison drop consents will switch from regional councils to a centralised agency, is an ill-disguised ploy intended to circumvent public and community concerns and input into the process, says New Zealand First.

“The shift takes local knowledge out of the equation and puts the safety of affected communities in the hands of poorly informed Wellington bureaucrats,” says Primary Industries and Outdoor Recreation Spokesperson Richard Prosser.

“New Zealand’s continued use of this Class-1 deadly eco-toxin is unjustifiable madness, and this new regula-

tory regime will make it even worse.

“How is the EPA going to enforce the manufacturer’s requirement that 1080 must not be used in on or near waterways? How will it enforce the requirement that poisoned carcasses be removed from waterways?

“Consent conditions, including preliminary and follow-up native and predator surveys, and adherence to drop location maps, are being breached right now. How will that improve when accountability is removed another step?

“How does the EPA intend to sign off medical health concerns when there is no antidote for 1080, no human toxicology data, no treatment, and not even a blood test

available? Doctors and hospitals have no tools for dealing with human 1080 poisoning, and a rubber stamp from the government isn’t going to change that fact.

“This is a transparently cynical change aimed solely at silencing the voice of public concern, by a National government hell-bent on following a discredited and dangerous pest control methodology.

“New Zealand First has long argued for the investment and science to find an acceptable alternative to this poison. The aerial laying costs well over $100 million every year. Some of that money should have gone into research and it simply hasn’t,” says Mr Prosser.

Rescue Helicopters Used to Poison Deer Helicopters used to save human lives have been hired to spread 1080 poison across a South Island national park in the peak of the tourism season. On the 21st of February, 2017, the Department of Conservation aerially poisoned 38,000 hectares of the Mt Aspiring National Park. Seven helicopters were employed to distribute the toxic cereal pellets, two of them are also used for rescue operations.

Official signage informing tourist and park visitors about the poisoning operation stated “DOC has identified the Makarora and Wilkin Valleys as a priority area for control.

Possum and rodent levels have reached thresholds for predator con-

trol.” However, information provided by the Department of Conservation via the Official Information Act, shows no such thresholds existed.

Rat tracking monitoring was zero in many areas and well below aerial poisoning thresholds in all the others, and a response letter from the Department of Conservation states that no possum monitoring was initiated.

The operation was undertaken during the peak of the tourism season, and a video clip documenting the poison drop shows helicopters dropping bait all around campers, and while dozens of tourists were swimming and enjoying their summer break – oblivious to

what was going on. “I thought it was a bush fire” says one, and others thought the constant buzzing of choppers was for mining, and another for carrying concrete.

The official toxin flight charts, also released via the OIA, show that poison baits were dropped directly into forest streams that tourists were drinking from. Trampers comment on camera that they had no idea that the bait was in the water.

Poisoned deer were found in open grassy valleys, and a fawn is just one of many non-targeted animals to be lured to the poisonous cereal food.

To view a video clip, click on this link https://youtu.be/-rWpA_nVOwE

“Dirty” Government Move to Grab Poison Control Dictatorial

by James Speedy

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The New Zealand Wildlands Biodiversity Management Society has strongly opposed a recent move by government to take all decisions about 1080 and similar poisons from local regions and regional councils which have always been the accepted way for citizens to represent their concerns. In his annual report retiring NZWBM chairman Graham Sperry said the move by government essentially removed the public’s democratic right to object in a meaningful, local and timely way.

“On April Fool’s day this year all regional council access by NZ public who wish to object to 1080 poison operations or conditions were stopped by decree of Minister for the Environment Minister Nick Smith. As Minister Smith is ultimately accountable for every resource consent in NZ - including your permit to build an outhouse - and his department the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and Ministry for the Environment will be the sole issuer of 1080 poison consents. It will go down as an infamous day of when New Zealand’s regional councils’ democratic processes were replaced by alienating the public at centralized government level,” he said.

Graham Sperry said the grab for centralized state control was an indirect admission that any justifications for the mass spreading of 1080 poison were utterly flawed.

“Its use has been and remains an obsessed mantra which really became rooted in the days when Venn Young was Minister of Agriculture and Forestry with Jim Bolger as his understudy, then reinforced by DoC Director of Research Dr Sadlier about the time the DSIR was closed down”, he said.

“This government move is the predictable result similar to that which a dictatorship would make when they had no other cogent argument available to them to justify their actions.”

Graham Sperry said ironically the growing number of public opposed to government’s poisoning

policy could take heart. The government move was a very strong signal that citizens efforts to oppose 1080 poison had been extremely effective. The government was in its last defensive comer and it had now decided to play dirty to removing timely and practical regional democratic rights.

“It’s symptomatic of a nasty government attitude to its own country and its citizens”.

NZWBM had been active on several fronts with the net result of its past decades’ work being to squeeze the 1080 programme “into a box” which was now being attacked from all sides by an increasingly aware public.

Several community websites and other social media ex-

posure had further raised public awareness and conversations.

The poison policy and programme has needlessly cost hundreds of millions from the public purse, with a growth in bureaucracy backed by often phantom or unsound assessments to justify the perceived “Biosecurity Threats” touted by government agencies in order to justify 1080 mass poisoning operations. The AHB (OSPRI) and DoC propaganda continued to deliberately try to “pull the wool” over the public’s eyes in respect of the degree of biosecurity threat and to the great potential of trapping as a viable and safe alternative with attendant wide social benefits.

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The Surf casting Bait Cannons

Mark Kingsley Young caught a couple of barracuda and a carpet shark recently having braved the winds out from the Wairarapa Coast using his baitcannon. Lots of fun...

It’s a fishing revolution with the new bait cannons - the air powered surf caster.

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 waters 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 lefthanded.

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.

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Innovative farmers can solve Freshwater quality

By Alfred Harris

In my 65th year I become more and more aware of gaps. I have fewer and fewer teeth. There is a big gap between my savings and my desire to retire, and until recently there was a huge gap between the observations by fishers and hunters of rapidly deteriorating water quality in streams, rivers and lakes and the willingness of politicians to listen.

And then out of the blue, in an election year, Cameron Bennett’s “The Real Price of Milk” gave Aucklanders some choice images of rural NZ to go with their Sunday dinners. The image of dairy shed effluent sprayed on what looked like waterlogged land was a reminder to NZers that what we do on the land can have a big effect on freshwater quality.

And suddenly the Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor rushes out a report on NZ’s fresh waters.

Why does such a poll-driven Government require Professor Sir Peter Gluckman to tell them that the state of our freshwater is the environmental issue of highest public concern? No amount of scientific uncertainty can hide the fact that this Government didn’t listen to fishers and hunters and this paper repeatedly telling them that something was seriously wrong with our streams, rivers and lakes.

Is writing more reports, throwing more research money at the problem and having the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor tut-tut about enormous challenges and no easy fixes really the best this Government can do after nine long years in power?

In an MMP environment political parties talk more and more to themselves and less and less to the farmers, fishers and hunters who have watched as the water quality of our streams, rivers and lakes has deteriorated.

In the general outcry about the “Real Price of Milk” criticism was made of filming Flinty’s farm in a cold, wet early spring and Jas’s farm in summer. What seems to have been forgotten was that in the early summer the Hauraki Plains was headings for a drought. I remember because I am a gardener! No one asked why under those equally difficult conditions Jas’s pastures looked so good?

Talking with Jas I discovered that she and other farmers have worked out for themselves practical, economically viable solutions that are a lot better for the environment and, in particular, water quality. Their soil-first farming

practices involve reducing fertiliser use and running lower numbers of stock on longer, more diverse and deeper rooted pastures. Like all farming, what sounds simple is a complicated two-step between ecology and economics. There are no simple formulae. Pasture growth, stock health, weather and markets are constantly changing and unpredictable. There are also the challenges of farming communities struggling to maintain services in rural areas. This complex situation is the lot of today’s farmers.

Jas’s drought resilient deep rooting diverse pastures pose a challenge to Professor Sir Peter Gluckman’s (and by association the Prime Minister’s) view that freshwater quality issues can be solved only by politicians and scientists. An election year is a good time to ask why taxpayer funded scientists are not quantifying and analysing what these innovative farmers are doing. If these farmers are capable of increasing the value of our exports while improving water, soil and air quality then their grassroots approach may just be the simplest and most effective way for MPI to meet its target of increasing the value of primary exports.

Simon Upton was the Minister of State Owned Enterprises in the Bolger Government that replaced MAF and DSIR with seven Crown Research Institutes and sat by as the independent farm advisory service was lost. Mr Upton returns to NZ later this year to become the independent Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. Perhaps one his first tasks could be to advise the new Government on how his fatally flawed model can be fixed and scientists can build on the practical experience of the Jas’s of this world?

It is great to have the Government, after nearly 9 years, finally turning its attention to water quality even if it has taken a Cameron Bennett TV1 documentary to force its hand. Maybe finally in an election year the Government will also take its hand off the throttle in its support of big irrigations schemes that worry the public because of likely environmental effects.

David Lange’s famous advice to have a cup of tea would seem appropriate.

Over a cuppa politicians and scientists could examine the growing international awareness that sequestration of soil carbon is an effective and less risky way of storing water. Improved productivity and food security are additional benefits. Perhaps we could

get our tax-payer funded scientists to measure how much water is stored in the soil-first farming methods that the Jas’s of this world are pioneering? http://www.pmcsa.org.nz/ wp-content/uploads/PMCSA-Freshwater-Report.pdf https://www.google.co.nz/search? q=christine+jones+soil+carbon+w ater+holding+capacity&rlz=1C1CH WA_enNZ616NZ616&oq=christine+ &aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j0l4.722 0j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

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An Irish Family Tradition father before him?” Granny looked deeply Paddy had long heard the stories of an into Paddy’s, troubled brown eyes and said, amazing family tradition. It seems that his “Because your father, your grandfather father, grandfather and great-grandfather and your great grandfather were all born had all been able to walk on water on their in December, when the lake is frozen, and 18th birthday. you were born in August, ya dip sh*t.

On that special day, they’d each walked The dangers of drinking tea across the lake to the pub on the far side It has been said that tea is more danfor their first legal drink. gerous than beer.

So when Paddy’s, 18th birthday came I discovered this last night, I had 14 ‘round, he and his pal Mick, took a boat beers till 3 am at the pub while my wife out to the middle of the lake, Paddy, was just drinking tea at home. stepped out of the boat... and nearly You should have seen how violent and drowned! angry she was when I got home.

Mick just barely managed to pull him to I was peaceful, silent and headed to safety. bed as she shouted at me...

Furious and confused, Paddy, went to see all night and even into the next his grandmother. ‘Grandma,’ he asked, “It’s morning. my 18th birthday, so why can’t I walk ‘cross Please ladies, if you can’t handle your the lake like my father, his father, and his tea, don’t drink it...

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Fishing with Blue Ocean Charters

By Jesse Gread, skipper

Eddie Leog

We have had a month of mixed weather providing good results on days we could venture out.

Starting off strongly we had a good Puka trip out to Mayor Island with a group of lads from the Taranaki. As we ventured out from the marina I was sure this would be a trip to remember with the weather and tides lining up nicely. The boys wanted to catch something they hadn’t caught before. so we skipped past the snapper and tarikihi spots that are always so tempting, straight on to the 200m grounds. With a first and second unsuccessful drop you could feel the mood changing, but it was worth one more try before heading to the island. We dropped down and almost immediately one of the lines was buckled over with a nice puka and another two with a 20kg ling. This catch had two hooks from different lines making for a bit of a healthy debate between anglers as to who caught it first!

A few gemfish hit the deck as well

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before we headed off for a couple of hours sleep before day break.

About 5 am the engine fired and we were heading out in near perfect conditions. On the steam out we joked that we only need a bluenose and bass to make it a perfect trip and that we did with in the first couple of drops. All of the lads managed to catch at least one fish species they had never caught before and they were all over the moon.

On the week days we managed a few amazing day trips hitting the snapper schools out at 50m. On one such trip people were catching up to three legal snapper (known as a triple header) at a time. The low tide change produced awesome fishing.

We had our limit of snapper within 45 minutes so headed out deeper to some rocks that we haven’t fished in a few seasons. One of these went off with lots of tarakihi and multiple golden snapper at one time. By the end of the day all bins were full and limits were reached and it was time to head home, With such qual-

Iana Bryson caught bluenose

ity, well-conditioned fish, friends and family would be reaping the benefits of one of the best trips of the season.

Venturing out on overnight fishing adventures last week, we headed straight out to the 5060 metre areas looking for fish schooling around foul ground on the bottom. We usually find around the change of light that the smaller schooling fish are slow on the bite, while the larger snapper become more confident in their feeding effectively beating them to the bait.

Stopping for a quick fish on the way to Mayor Island is always good fun and puts some nice eating fish in the fish bins. Most snapper were between 1.5 and 4 kg.

Once the fish come off the bite after dark we continue on our way, while the BBQ fires and the kettle boils.

Once at the island we anchor on a sheltered reef and berley up, picking up the odd stray snapper along with porae. The main target though is the bait fish in the berley trail for fresh baits the following day. People crash out at different times during the night when they can no longer keep their eyes open. As the alarm goes off at 4 am and engine checks and a quick walk around the boat are complete, you can see the keen fishos are back up out of bed. These are usually the ones that were still going in the early hours of the morning! Half an hour steam out from the Island in glass-out conditions automatically increases everyone’s’ spirits. On the ground in around the 200

Simon and Austin Halbrow

metre mark we drop the fresh baits and any livies we managed to catch during the night. A few 8-12 kg hapuka and multiple gemfish come up. The only problem with the flat conditions is with no wind the drift becomes unpredictable. This causes a few tangles slowing down the day a bit. Around the high tide we move off to the bluenose grounds dropping straight on top of the school.

With every line on the boat hooking up, some with multiple bluenose. One of the hire electric reels brought up three 15kg fish at once.

Deckhand Shane managed his personal best, a 24kg blue nose. After two bluenose drifts we have more than enough fish. We head home trolling along the way, picking up a few nice skip-jack tuna and some albacore to finish the trip off nicely.

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Early Bird Bait & Tackle Report getting their limits in no time at all and the weather has also turned out pretty favourable. People going out on the Mussel Farms are really slaying the Snapper at the moment with plenty of fish between 3kg and 5kg being landed.

Where in the past months the fish have pecked away at the bait, well now it’s hammered and you have to be prepared to stop that dive into the rocks or ropes. The Snapper are gorging themselves ready for moving out to deeper water, where hopefully they will produce Early Bird Bait & Tackle Report lots of little Snapper for the seaAPRIL SHOWERS …… “Yeah Right” sons to come. Kingfish are still in …….. ‘What Easter”. After all that abundance with plenty of fish just rain and damage caused by the under the legal length of 75cm slips, the Thames coastline finally but there are big moochers about became accessible on Easter Sun- which will more than likely take day for all north bound traffic. The you for a ride. Small Hammerheads roading crews have battled to move are still plaguing the shallower all of the debris from over one hun- waters but don’t be alarmed at dred slips and are still working away them. As I have mentioned before, to clear certain areas. ‘Hats off to they do make excellent snapper you guys for getting it clear enough bait, so why not give them a try. to get the traffic through”. Every- There are plenty of work-ups out one on the coast has been effected there with some decent sized Kahain one way or another and I know wai getting hooked up among the that patience was wearing thin. melee. Of course the bigger SnapEveryone had their own ideas on per are down below picking up the how it should be handled but hav- pieces so if you are able to get your ing left it to the professionals, it has bait or lure down to these trophy come right now and most people fish you may well be rewarded. Over are happy again. This of course the last week I have weighed in two means that the ‘Fishos’ are able to very big snapper of 16lb and 18lb get out again and enjoy a morn- which where caught on the Musing or afternoon on the ‘old briny’. sel Farms out of Waikawau. These Well I cannot say that fishing is fish are our breeding fish and could hard because it is the complete op- have been put back to do their busiposite; it is fantastic with everyone ness but instead where taken to

boast about catching such a specimen. ‘Why can’t we just weigh it, take a photo’ and then put it back.

Nowadays, posting things on Facebook etc gets more comments than any of your mates would say so come on guys, “PUT THE FISH BACK’.

I keep getting asked what the best bait is at the moment and true as I speak, all baits are working well because the water has cooled and Snapper especially are fattening themselves up. I was told this week that (Beef Skirt) works well as does (Chicken Skin) so if you want to steal the Sunday Roast and go out fishing make sure it’s worthwhile as the missus will not be happy.

Two young lads (Josh and Oliver) went out with mum and dad and caught their first fish (see photo).

They didn’t have to go very far and the weather stayed perfect all day for them so hopefully they are now hooked on our favourite pastime and will be back in the near future. I’m getting good reports on the Fladen Xtra Flexx rods that I sell and they have been in such popular demand that the supplier has temporarily ran out of them.

They are expected in soon so I will keep you updated in the next report. I have in stock now a good range of Airguns and Pellets and for the fisherman who is plagued by birds a paintball gun that will certainly deter but won’t harm them. I am now selling Harrows Darts as the sport is really taking off over here and because of the coverage on the TV, many people want to give it a try. I have a good range of ammunition, but because of the big suppliers in the area do not carry a lot of shot gun ammo which all the duck shooters want.

If you do want some from me I will order it depending on quantity and availability. Just a reminder that I am open from 5am weekdays and 4am weekends and late closing every Friday, so if you are coming through call in and grab the best bait around. Tight Lines.

Opinion

King Salmon Process an Affront to Democracy?

by Tony Orman

The King Salmon application for new salmon farms in the Marlborough Sounds and process reflects an alarming trend towards the dilution, indeed removal, of democracy by government.

A recent Environmental Defence Society (EDS) press release said “the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has initiated a process to give King Salmon an ‘easy ride’ for approvals for new salmon farms in the protected Outer Marlborough Sounds.”

The Environmental Defence Society further added “MPI is essentially acting as a co-applicant for approvals that will override the Marlborough Council’s plans that prohibit aquaculture development in the Outer Sounds and that protect scenic and landscape values.”

The government’s process EDS described, allows the Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy to

make regulations that bypass normal RMA processes. Yet the Marlborough Council is currently reviewing its plans, the proper place for making decisions about aquaculture. But it seems government reckons otherwise and knows best.

But does it?

The King Salmon saga will allow a Ministerial decision already backing King Salmon’s commercial interest to override the broader public interest. Worst of all, the locally council, democratically elected and the people of Marlborough are being denied any voice. Well not quite, for submissions are being heard by a panel. Closer scrutiny shows any semblance to true democracy ends. The panel is politically appointed by the Minister, on the advice of MPI bureaucrats.

The Environmental Defence Society agrees saying “The process

is a questionable one. It invites people to make written submissions, which will be considered by a panel appointed by government.

There is no provision for crossexamination of experts and so the hearing lacks robustness. The panel makes recommendations to the Minister who decides with no rights of appeal (by the public).”

In short, it’s lip service to democracy.

Recently Minister for the Environment Nick Smith took full control of the spreading of ecosystem poisons 1080 and brodifacoum, stripping any say by regional and district councils and therefore the public. Smith argued it was for a more consistent approach. Yet mostly poisons are spread on public lands. The land owners, i.e. the public, now have no voice in the spreading of toxins on their lands.

Two years ago, government allowed foreign mineral and oil companies to drill along the coast and in conservation parks - all public property. Energy minister Simon Bridges signed approval in cavalier fashion so much so that when later asked, he didn’t know where one exploration area, the Lewis Pass’ Victoria Forest Park, was. The public was denied any democratic right to comment.

Recent “reforms” to the Resource Management Act similarly weaken the people’s voice. Again power in the regions has been diluted but dramatically increased in central government. The changes are not about reforming and improving law; they are about concentrating total power and control in central government and its individual ministers. The changes

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essentially weaken laws about such vital matters as controlling urban sprawl and protecting rivers and streams (already degraded or under threat) and coastal areas such as the Marlborough Sounds..

The late John F Kennedy US president once wrote, “The race between education and erosion, between wisdom and waste, has not run its course. Each generation must deal anew with the raiders, the scramble to use public resources for private profit. and with the tendency to prefer short-run profits to long-term necessities.”

The scramble by the raiders is on.

People are becoming more and more aware of the increasing worldwide ecological crisis. One fact is undeniable - the earth carries many times too many people for

both resources and environmental well-being. In New Zealand, the first Europeans established an egalitarian society of social equality, where resources were public. The alternative to this society is to allow vital elements alienated into private hands by private deals for private profits.

Basically that deal is underway with King Salmon. King Salmon’s farm occupies public seabed space for which no rates nor rental is paid.

New Zealand vital resources, essentially owned by the public, in land, water, soil, forest and the public domain generally, must be jealously guarded by New Zealanders that is if we cannot expect our elected representatives in Parliament to look after the public interest.

It is only proper that laws pertaining to the environment and

15

public resources should allow the public full and proper voice.

Any commercial exploitation of any public resource should be open to scrutiny and challenge.

Massive power is concentrated in corporates. The corporates woo weak politicians and power-hungry political parties with substantial party donations. Yet ironically the people expect elected representatives to protect the public good.

But when those elected representatives weaken or remove the public’s right to exercise scrutiny and challenge, then it’s a sad day indeed.

Democracy is under severe stress.

Footnote: Tony Orman is a former town and country planner with the former Marlborough County Council.

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Wedding

At a wedding ceremony, the priest asked if anyone had anything to say concerning the union of the bride and groom.

It was their time to stand up and talk, or forever hold their peace.

The moment of utter silence was broken by a young beautiful woman carrying a child.

She started walking toward the pastor slowly.

Everything quickly turned to chaos.

The bride slapped the groom.

The groom’s mother fainted.

The grooms men started giving each other looks and wondering how best to help save the situation.

The priest asked the woman, “Can you tell us why you came forward?

What do you have to say?”

The woman replied, “We can’t hear at the back.”

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Didymo Dave From the Creel Tackle House & Café, Turangi Check out our new web site www.creeltackle.com Three editions of this paper I have waxed on about the condition of the Trout being caught and to watch this space, well forget about watching this space get the fly rod out and fish Taupo, the reports have just gotten better and better, not only are we seeing large Browns but Rainbows upwards of 4lb like torpedo's in the Hinemaia, Tauranga Taupo, Tongariro.

Here are some tips to get amongst them, small nymphs, bombs not so heavy, shorten the leader, move about if you are not catching, move

through a stretch, change your flies.

Czech nymphing is becoming ever more popular unfortunately many who think they are using this method correctly are in fact not, you should be feeling the nymphs rolling over the river/stream bed, any take on the nymphs at all, the ideal rod is a minimum 9ft 6in with a reasonably flexible tip in 3,4,5 weights, two or even three flies, a big mistake is overweight.

SUNRAY Czech nymphing lines the perfect match much easier than braid or nylon to handle.

We have Euro nymph rods designed by HANAK the people who have been masters of this method long before anyone else the rods

are extendable from 9ft 6in to 10ft or 11ft in 4 and 5 weight, and yes we use them on the Tongariro, with each Rod sold we offer two hours of tuition.

In stock are HANAK reels, slotted tungsten beads, Barbless Hooks, Flurocarbon at $20 for 50 metres Or the Echo Shadow 11ft Euro nymph Rod. Nymphing, if you have caught a fish and nothing has happened for a while try changing the nymph !

Don't take a mortgage out on a pool (stand in one place to long) you have more chance if everyone moves through it.

Tightlines and get out there .

Water take consent application declined Central South Island Fish & Game reported to its stakeholders that one year to the day that the Environment Court hearing was adjourned; on 17 March 2017 Judge Jackson issued a decision to decline a consent application to take water from the Hakataramea River.

The consent application was originally lodged back in October 2013

by Infinity Investments, and since then, the consent has been appealed to the High Court, declined at a consent hearing and now de-

clined by the Environment Court.

Fish & Game became involved with the consent application in 2015 and has invested considerable time and resources in the case, calling expert evidence at both the consent hearing and the Environment Court that related to the Hakataramea and Waitaki fisheries.

A large number of residents in the Hakataramea Valley also opposed the consent and called witnesses.

A notable point that came out of the decision is the finding that the Haka-

taramea is over-allocated and that is causing adverse effects on water quality and aquatic ecosystem.

This decision is a strong win for Fish & Game and provides a solid foundation for Fish & Game’s next step- a review of the Hakataramea River flow regime.

Fish & Game generally do pretty well, given the inadequacies of funds and staffing, compared to that of their ‘adversaries’

Trout Fishing Federation Opposes Tradeable Water Rights The current debate about charging for water should not open the door to tradeable water rights says a national trout anglers organisation.

The NZ Federation of Freshwater Anglers has opposed the right of water use holders to sell those rights, a system not unlike sea fisheries quotas.

Ken Sims of the Manawatu and spokesman for the Federation said tradeable fish quotas had resulted in the resource being dominated by big corporate companies who buy up rights thus aggregating quota.

“In a relatively short time it becomes monopolised by the big corporations,” he said. “This monopoly is reflected in the undue

excessive political pressure that corporates put on government both ministries and ministers.”

Ken Sims said water was essentially a public resource. He rejected the immediate past prime minister John Key’s opinion that water belong to no one. “It’s public property irrespective of wealth, ethnic background or social class. New Zealand is an egalitarian country and water reflects that,” he said.

He pointed to the fact that in some overseas countries, recreational groups have had to ‘buy back’ water rights from corporations, just to ensure that natural ecosystems and flows were maintained.

The New Zealand public, and recreational waterway users, see the trade in water rights, as already occurs in some South Island areas, as just another example of the agricultural industry ‘thumbing its nose’ at the public’s ownership.

“This has to stop” Ken Sims said.

“It’s public water. If you don’t want what you have been allocated, then leave the stuff where you found it”.

Laws should be implemented to prevent the direct “wheeling and dealing” of water rights by prohibiting trading in it, he added.

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Freedom Camping No Problem In Taumarunui ‘-

Freedom camping is a hot, hot topic in NZ at the moment with plenty of comments being made and submissions to all and sundry. Now I’m well aware of some of the negative things freedom campers have been caught doing.

I’ve caught some myself, but this summer doing Check Clean Dry advocacy work in the area west of Lake Taupo from Taumarunui to Ohakune I’ve seen a different side of the freedom camping issue and there is no problem in Taumarunui!

Let me explain. Tourists spend their days out looking at the sights, so the best time to intercept them is in the evenings. Around Taumarunui there are 2 places they go to spend the night. First is the Ohinepane

Recreation Reserve on the banks of the Whanganui River, west of Taumarunui on the Forgotten Highway.

This is a DOC facility, free to stay at with good toilets, it’s a large site and superbly maintained by the local DOC team. Its clean, trees are cleared around, it’s pretty much weed free and according to the freedom campers one of the best sites in our country which is why they go there.

There is also signage at other nearby locations put up by Ruapehu District Council asking people not to stay at that location but to go to Ohinepane which is an example of agencies working together.

The other place is Taumarunui Holiday Park where campers pay a fee and get access to good showers,

Trek The Hidden Valley

This is a must stop on your journey to the Far North. Hidden Valley is nestled under the majestic Waima Ranges, situated just west of Opononi, three hours’ drive north of Auckland and only one and a half hours from Paihia or the Bay Of Islands.

Learn about the local history and native plants and their uses with your guide.

Trek through some of the most breathtaking parts of the North Island and maybe even get a chance to catch your own dinner and sample some of New Zealand’s best seafood depending on your stay. Make sure you sample the edible plants when they are in season!

Hidden Valley offers a great range of personalized horse treks and adventure holidays with options to suit everybody, from one hour rides to week long stays. They can accom-

modate complete beginners through to those who are well experienced.

They like to keep their treks small and personalized to give you the best experience they can, however if you do have a group over four, please enquire directly as they will always do their best to accommodate you.

All treks need to be booked beforehand. To ensure you do not miss out make your booking well in advance, especially during summer and over weekends.

Lots of time? Opt in for the three hour loop with an approx half an hour rest stop near the top of the foothills where you can relax for a bit and enjoy the views.

Trek the coast with a beach ride start your journey at the mouth of the Waimamaku River, ride along the beach, over the sand dunes and venture into the forest during your adventure. Perhaps even go for a leisurely swim half way or select a Trek with a lunch stop at the Old Hotel.

You can bring your own horse or hire one. Enjoy the blissful sound of Kiwi’s at night, relax and enjoy some of the

kitchen, computer access, herb gardens etc and plenty of people stay there. Now I have given up driving around in the evenings looking for campers on riverbanks etc because they are not there! They are all tucked up with their teddy bears in these 2 facilities. So why the problem in other places? The answer to that question is simple - facilities.

For example, travel south from Taumarunui to National Park then turn left and head towards Turangi. A few kms up the road you will find the DOC Mangahuia campsite on your right.

There is a fee to pay when staying here, there are toilets and some facilities but it is a small site and gets crowded. Head from there east to Tokaanu, then turn right to Turangi and up the eastern side of the Lake to Taupo and what have you got for freedom campers that are not self-contained?

A couple of camping grounds for sure, but nothing that can hold a candle to Ohinepane Recreation Reserve. Now I would like to point out that in this article I am discussing freedom campers that are not self-contained. In next month’s column we will look at other freedom camping issues. But my experiences this summer of quietly talking to goodness knows how many tourists travelling around our country and discussing freedom camping with them has left me with the view that the tourist marketing people have done a great job. The gates are wide open for tourists to visit NZ. Unfortunately the infrastructure side of the equation is lagging behind, big time.

most amazing sights in the Hokianga.

For the best experience with large group bookings, contact them directly to see what personalized treks we can provide, perhaps even stay for a weekend to experience the best we have on offer.

You will need to bring full length comfortable trousers; riding boots, tramping boots or sturdy shoes with a heel; Sunscreen; a waterproof wind breaker or jacket; a water bottle; sunglasses; a small camera; your swimming gear and towel if you are on the beach trek.

They will endeavour to allow all guests the opportunity to trot and canter in safe areas, please only do so once your guide has given the all clear and understand that there may be other guests on the trek that are not experienced.

Confident 8 year olds are allowed on all rides.

We do not have a set weight limit but ask if you are over 100kgs to please notify them, so that they can ensure they have the correct saddled horse for you.

They have varying breeds and sizes of horses which are all trained to be able to be ridden in all situations.

They do try to keep our treks small so that they can give the best experience possible, however if you have a group larger than six please contact they directly and they will endeavour to accommodate you.

Helmets are required and they can provide them if required.

Phone: 09 405 4602, mobile: 021 0595703 Email: hiddenvalleyhorses@gmail.com

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When the Tongariro is in flood? fish when the Tongariro is in flood?

Here are some alternative options.

In general weather pattern terms, without being too specific, if the Tongariro is flooded, so are all the other rivers – Whakapapa, Wanganui, Mohaka, Rangitikei, etc. The prevailing westerlies make sure most of the rain is dumped on the surrounding hills and national parks surrounding Turangi. This includes the Tongariro catchment in the Kaimanawas.

So the question is usually where to go on the Tongariro as nearly all other alternative option rivers will be flooded as well. There are exceptions such as the Waitahanui which is mainly spring fed and not relying so much on run-off.

Above image last Saturday looking up river from TRB of Big Bend Pool when the river is in flood at about three times normal flow – as you can see there are some

such little spots that can still be fished successfully as long as you are prepared for the long slog up from the Red Hut Bridge.

So many anglers asked where to

The first consideration for suitable alternatives to the Tongariro is the surrounding lakes of Taupo and Rotoaira and Kuratau and Lake Otamangakau.

Those without a boat can hire a water strider raft. These are free for regular guests the Tongariro River Motels but naturally they selective as they are expensive machines to repair. They are strictly controlled for safety reasons and entirely at lender’s risk.

Back to the Tongariro in flood, there are pools that can be fished in flood – along the edges like the TLB of Bridge Pool, Lower Bridge Pool, Breakfast Pool, but the best results have all come from the various bypasses. There are several wet weather opportunities in the Braids below the Bridge Pool, above the SH1 road bridge under the cliffs – below Judges Pool, smaller over-flow streams above Judges Pool and below the Island Pool, or above Red Hut where the longer side channel is more stable from Boulder Reach or above that again below Big Bend Pool.

With recent high floods the river was checked further up above Red Hut when the Tongariro was still flowing about three times above normal flow.

Generally they looked too fast and unfishable but the trout were still hanging in there along the shallow edges to keep out of the main current.

The old angler access track leading up river above Boulder Reach to Big Bend Pool and beyond is hard to find and in places almost disappears. It takes about 40 minutes to walk

up from the car park at Red Hut. No-one has interviewed the trout yet but the general understanding is that they need to get out of the turbulence for shelter and also as the main flow carries heaps of pumice and ash which irritates trouts’ gills (this takes many years to filter down through the native bush and tributary streams to the river after a volcanic eruption on Tongariro National Park).

These narrow shallow side channels are often too difficult or impossible to wade in flood so most anglers try to walk along the banks flicking or dipping short drifts – rather than usual casting with an olive woolly bugger or big glo-bugs or pink/ orange bead-head weighted hare & copper nymphs. This is more than just theory as all TRM anglers returned with trout for the smoker over the weekend. The best caught 4-5 on each trip. Some of these trout were in excellent condition.

Image on right looking down bypass below Boulder Reach when the main river is in flood.

One of the most wonderful natu-

17

ral features of the Tongariro is that it recovers so quickly. While the Whakapapa, Wanganui and Mohaka etc. may take a week or so, the Tongariro is fishable within a day or two. This is usually due to Genesis – the power company – needing the water to spin the turbines at Tokaanu Power Station and

dropping the flow much quicker.

Image below looking down from the TRB (True Right Bank) over the Fan Pool when the Tongariro is still in flood last Saturday – flowing at about 80-90 cumecs or three times the normal flow. The cliff above the Cliff Pool can just be identified in the distance shadow on the right.

Below is view up river to illustrate the shallow bypass below Judges Pool on left of photo and smaller bypass on right of photo above Judges Pool. Image taken November 2011 when Tongariro was at normal 26 cumec flow. The river flows have changed since with less water flowing in the bypasses. But that could change again so easily…

2017 Oceania Championships

Saturday 6th May 2017 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, Coromandel Area School (bottom field)

The programme includes:

oyster shucking mussel shucking live local bands celebrity Chef : Derek the Chef Mystery Box Cook off: between local chefs food stalls fish filleting demonstration Gold Ridge Marine Farm Junior Fishing Comp - free to under 14 at Coro Fish & Dive Mystery Weight Snapper & Kahawai Boy & Girl plus spot prizes.

Wearable Arts register on the day at the info tent Facebook page: Coromandel Seafood Fest

Sam Bourne with his trophies Sam Bourne and John Bell representing NZ at the Oceania Fly Fishing Champs 2017

The NZ five man team took out the Team Gold medal with Sam Bourne also winning individual Gold and John Bell the individual bronze medal, at the Oceania Fly Fishing Champs 2017 held near National Park recently.

For further enquiries call: Festival Organizers: 07 8668797 e-mail: des-gail@xtra.co.nz Mark with his 70cm rainbow trout

The full results, for team and individuals are: Team Results: NZ Black 1st: AUS Gold 2nd; AUS Green 3rd; NZ Silver 4th.

Individual Results/Placings: Sam Bourne (NZ) 1st; Peter Welsh (AUS) 2nd; John Bell (NZ) 3rd.

Biggest fish: Mark Clasper (NZ) 70cm. Mark caught this monster wild lake rainbow trout from Lake

Otamangakau measuring in at 70cm and an obese-10lb+ possibly a record for NZ FIPS competitions in NZ. The trout was released and is still alive and swimming around.

The competition was to include 3 river sessions on the Whanganui River, and 2 loch style sessions on Lake Rotoira, however due to weather conditions the Whanganui River section was cancelled.

SFFNZ selected two teams to represent NZ. The team members are as follows, the makeup of the two teams is a required formality for the Championships.

NZ Team (Black): John Bell (Auckland); Sam Bourne (Auckland); Mark Clasper (Auckland); Brendan Lyon (Auckland); Tim Anderson (Hamilton).

NZ Team (Silver): John Gummer (Palmerston North); Tim Rich (Auckland); Peter Scott (Auckland); Johan Venter (Auckland); Chris Young (Auckland).

A big thanks to organizers and helpers who put on a great event and to our Australian opponents who were a great bunch of fellas.

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Hector’s dolphins found dead Two Hector’s dolphins discovered washed up on two South Island beaches is raising fresh questions over whether enough is being done to protect the endangered species.

MPI and DoC are investigating the deaths the circumstances surrounding both mortalities. One dolphin was found on a Greymouth beach, and the second dolphin was found near Banks Peninsula.

The MPI investigation will supposedly look to identify everyone who was fishing in the areas prior to the discovery of the dolphins.

Under the Marine Mammals Protection Act, anyone who kills or injures a marine mammal must report the event. Neither death was reported to authorities.

However, the species is still listed as endangered and there are restrictions on commercial and recreational fishing in the dolphin’s known habitat.

While only two of the dolphins had been reported as being killed by commercial fishers in the past

year, it was thought the true number could be as high as 77.

Under-reporting by commercial is always a concern and the ministries plans to implement monitoring programmes for commercial vessels may help identify mortalities in the future.

Otago University dolphin expert professor Elizabeth Slooten said the Ministries figures on dolphin populations was misleading and on the West Coast, where one of the dead mammals was found, the population had fallen 20 percent in the past 16 years.

“We have done an analysis on how many dolphins are being caught and what we expect to happen with these separate populations and we predicted it would drop by 1000 but not until 2050 ... And so that drop has occurred but much much faster than we predicted.”

MPI was also underestimating how many Hector’s dolphins died in nets each year, she said.

She cited a NIWA study show-

ing up to 150 died this way each year, nearly double MPI’s figure.

“That’s the problem at the moment is that there’s very very poor information, even on the number of dolphins caught in gillnets and the number of dolphins caught in trawl nets, basically all we have is a ‘yes’ answer.

“We know that they get caught in trawl nets but there’s been so little observer coverage on trawlers that there is no way of estimating how many.”

Pods of up to 60 Hector’s dolphins at a time had been seen following trawl nets in New Zealand waters, attracted by the prospect of an easy meal.

“There’s been some very good research done on this in Australia with bottlenose dolphins where they put cameras in the nets, and I have some footage of bottlenose dolphins swimming in and out of trawl nets and spending quite some time in those nets. So fish that have been caught, they pick them out.”

visit us on facebook A man and his newlywed checked into a mountain resort by a lake.

The desk clerk notices the “Just Married” sign still on the car. As soon as the man gets the luggage out of the car, he hops in a boat to go fishing.

He is out all day, comes back for a quick supper, picks up his lantern and goes back out at night. This goes on for a couple of days when the man happens to stop by the desk.

The clerk starts a conversation with the man and mentions his behaviour.

“I know it’s none of my business, but I was wondering why you weren’t having sex with your new wife.”

“Oh, I couldn’t do that; she has gonorrhea.”

“Well, what about anal sex?”

“Couldn’t do that; she has diarrhea.”

“There is always oral sex.”

“Nope, she has pyorrhea.”

“Wait a second. If she has gonorrhea, diarrhea, and pyorrhea, why did you marry her?”

“That’s easy. She also has worms, and I love to fish!”

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Overfishing monitored by commercial fishers

FishServe the company which monitors and keeps an eye on commercial fishing data including catch rates is owned by an industry lobby group, Seafood New Zealand, both are located in the same building in Wellington.

Environmentalists are calling for a change to the way overfishing is monitored but Nathan Guy says that it’s not an issue as it gets to see and still owns all the data.

However it appears that Guy is clearly missing the point.

“To have that information owned, controlled and held by a commercial company that is owned by the fishing industry I think is

entirely inappropriate,” Greenpeace’s Tim McKinnel says.

They’ve put the fox in charge of the hen-house.

It appears that MPI is a captured regulator.

Just how many fish are in our waters and how much of them commercial fishers are catching is of critical importance. Without it, species risk extinction from overfishing. With its current record of denial and incompetence the MPI is in a conflict of interest situation, given that many species are in severe decline from continued overfishing.

FishServe collects data on 1,173 vessels, and it has handed out 39 warn-

ings for overfishing breaches in the past year, with no prosecutions.

A 2013 order transferred to FishServe a large number of MPI’s “functions, duties and powers”, such as “to monitor overfishing thresholds”.

FishServe says that the company is completely autonomous of Seafood New Zealand and there’s no influence from the commercial sector. So why then is the CEO of Seafood New Zealand a director of FishServe.

Professor Liz Slooten of Otago University believes that such a vital job shouldn’t involve the fishing industry at all. “I don’t mind if it’s MPI or Statistics NZ, but it needs to be a Government or independent organization,” she says.

Slooten wants all data to be freely available. The FishServe system requires the public to pay.

Yet, Nathan Guy is comfortable with the current arrangements. “The process has been working well for about 20 years,” he says. However MPI’s track record doesn’t support this.

FishServe collects data from skippers, which according to the MPI is a cumbersome process. MPI says “errors occur on 17 percent of the paper forms... common errors include the wrong year, vessel name... and invalid fish stocks”.

Recreational fishers and NZ First are calling for a Commission of Inquiry into the mismanagement of the inshore fishery by MPI proven through years of incompetence, corruption and collusion with the commercial industry.

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19

Huge prize pool for Bounty Hunter As always in The Bounty Hunter Fishing Tournament History, there are some awesome cash rewards and spot prizes. Sign up on their Facebook page to follow the development as more and more prizes are being added.

The Friday prizes include $20,000 worth of Spot Prize Give-aways. The Prize Giving is to be held at The Top Pub at 6.30 pm Friday 29th June 2017.

The Best Overall Prizes drawn on the Saturday are based on the heaviest fish weighed in first. The Prize Giving will be held at The Top Pub at 6.30 pm Saturday 30th June 2017.

Category prizes are as follows for each of these categories: Kingfish, Snapper, Kahawai, Trevally, and John Dory 1st $5,000; 2nd $1,500; 3rd $500; 4th $200.

There is a $1000 prize each for the heaviest Piper and Parore.

All contestants must be registered at the

venue first before weighing in any fish.

Contestants must carry their Tournament ID card with them at all times.

Random inspections will take place throughout the tournament. One ID card per person. ID cards are not exchangeable between anglers and you risk disqualification if you do not have your Tournament ID card on you.

All persons aboard a boat must have a Tournament ID card on them or all persons aboard and the boat will be disqualified from the tournament.

No prizes will be issued without valid proof of identity.

If your Tournament ID card is lost or stolen, please let the tournament organizers know immediately. In this scenario a replacement card will be available at the event.

Entry to the tournament is at the discretion of the tournament organizers

and will only be complete when accepted by the organizers. If entry is refused, the entry fee will be refunded.

The organizers reserve the right to cancel the registration of any contestant whose conduct in the organizers’ opinion is contrary to the spirit in which the fishing tournament is run.

The decision of the organizers in this matter is final. No refunds will be given.

Purchasing a ticket constitutes acceptance of the rules and regulations covering the tournament, and all contestants agree to abide by the organizers and judges decisions.

If you have any issues around your payment, or the amount you have been charged please call Stan on 07 866 8760 or 0274 345 226, or send an email to info@thebountyhunter.co.nz Book now for the Bounty Hunter competition at wwwbountyhunter.co.nz

Culture of cruelty – commonplace Claims that a commercial fishermen had been abusing seabirds and not reporting their deaths came to light in a recent Employment Court action, between Vincent Smith and Impulse Fishing, owned by the Robson family of Neil’s Beach, at Jackson Bay, South Westland.

The case was partly around whether Mr Smith had abandoned his employment in August 2014, or if Impulse dismissed him, when he went on a sixweek

NMIT course to upgrade his marine engineer certificate.

However, during the case it was alleged there had been cruelty to seabirds by crew members that occurred during Mr Smith’s South Westland voyages as skipper.

The authority

ruling says a friend of Mr Smith’s observed one of the crew deliberately hitting a bird with a gaffe. “There is no evidence at all that Mr Smith ever took part in any inappropriate handling of the birds, either when skippering or

when crewing. Mr Smith vehemently denies ever mishandling or abusing birds.

He also denies encouraging the crew to do so or laughing or egging them on, or allowing or creating a “culture of cruelty”.

“However, he did say that he encouraged the crew to use a plastic crate to put over a bird and lift it and put it into the water from the crate” The authority said there is no evidence that Impulse had a procedure to ensure it and its employees kept up to date with any changes in the above legislation. There is no evidence Impulse had any policies or procedures relating to handling non-quota species or seabirds.

No obligations under specific legislation were drawn to Mr Smith’s attention when he was inducted onto the Impulse II. The ruling said Andrew Robson “was candid in his evidence that he estimated that there would have been approximately 20 accidental, or incidental, deaths of seabirds per year over the combined

trips that he and Mr Smith skippered”.

Robson was also candid in admitting that although he was aware that their deaths had to be reported no seabird deaths were reported at all during the time Mr Smith worked for Impulse, no matter whether he or Mr Smith were the skipper.

Robson’s evidence at the investigation meeting was that as far as he was aware it was commonplace within the industry to fail to report sea bird deaths, and the deaths of other non-quota species.

“He was also candid in admitting that although he was aware that their deaths had to be reported no seabird deaths were reported at all during the time Mr Smith worked for Impulse, no matter whether he or Mr Smith was the skipper.

“Andrew’s evidence at the investigation meeting was that as far as he was aware it was commonplace within the industry to fail to report seabird deaths, and the deaths of other non-quota species.”

June 29th - 30th - July 1st