February 2022 - Issue 197 - The Fishing Paper and Hunting News

Kahawai lure kingies to Kaikoura

Stuart Graham

BOOK REVIEW

The superb summer and warm currents drifting in close to shore is having Kaikoura. A bloom of squat lobster has attracted large schools of kahawai, which are gorging on the crustaceans.

The gregarious squat

The kahawai, in turn, have lured in another infrequent visitor to Kaikoura, the

Locals trolling close to shore hoping to capitalise on the abundant kahawai have been pleasantly surprised with a by catch

lobster Munida gregaria is the most common New Zealand squat lobster found in shallow waters off the east coast and the only species that forms dense swarms.

While most have been taken trolling bibbed lures, one

a freshly caught small kahawai as live bait and was rewarded with a solid kingi hook up.

Bryn Williams from Hunting & Fishing Kaikoura

while trolling right in close to shore, directly behind the Hunt Fish shop. He was trolling a BKK 165mm bibbed lure between 6—8

Trolling speed is quite important as too slow and you will be plagued with kahawai and ‘couta. Bryn said Rapalas are working well also and colour doesn’t appear to be a critical factor.

With the warm set to hang around, kingies could be on the menu for the foreseeable future.

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Channel 01 – Mt. Stokes

Will Will Smith and Mark Manson

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Reviewed by Daryl Crimp

A substantial read; absorbing, entertaining and insightful—a real page turner.

Whether you are a fan of Super Star actor Will Smith or not, this is a compelling multifaceted read. Unquestionably, Smith is a huge talent, so the story of his rise to stardom is fascinating in itself, but he is rooted insecurities and this facet of his life adds a real poignancy to his story.

Full of life lessons, Smith tells his story in a raw unblemished fashion, which creates an intimacy with his readers.

At times he’s self deprecating and genuinely humble but the paradox is that he’s hugely driven and ego centric, to the point of

Coverage from Cape Farewell in the south to Cape Egmont in the north, and the east from Cape Palliser to Cape Campbell.  Most of the Marlborough Sounds, Golden Bay, Tasman Bay , Wellington and Cook Strait.  At times. This channel may be workable outside these perimeters.

Channel 04 – Drumduan.

Covers Tasman Bay and the western d’Urville area.  Permanently linked to both channels 60 and 65.

This means that any transmission made on channel 04 is heard simultaneously on both channels 60 and 65 and vice versa.

Channel 60 – Mt. Burnett

Covers Kahurangi Point in the west, all of Golden Bay and the western side of d’Urville Island.

Channel 60 is permanently linked to channel 04  (and subsequently to channel 65) so any transmission made on channel 04 is heard on channel 04, 60, and 65 as well.

blindness to those around him. Yet the hard lessons he learns are easily transferrable and relatable to us lesser mortals.

From the opening parable of his father’s ‘Wall’, the underlying message is life is not easy so learn to weather adversity and overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles ‘one brick at a time’. While the theme sounds a little clichéd, Will is a very authentic read: supported by a disparate cast of angels, lovers, rogues and victims, and nicely balanced with industry revelations, amusing anecdotes, personal insights, sex, and raw emotion.

Highly recommended as an entertaining read cum self help companion.

Channel 63 – Mt. Kahikatea.

Covers Queen Charlotte Sound, Port Underwood, Cook Strait, south to Cape Campbell, Kapiti and Mana and also parts of Kenepuru and Pelorus Sounds.  This channel is good for Wellington approaches but not good within Wellington Harbour.  (Mariners are advised to cancel Trip Reports at Barrets Reef buoy).

Channel 65 – Paradise Reserve Covers Kenepuru and Pelorus Sounds, Havelock, d’Urville, western Cook Strait, parts of Tasman Bay, Golden Bay and large sections of Queen Charlotte Sound.

Channel 66 – Mt. Stokes

Coverage area is similar to Channel 01.  This repeater is for commercial users only and is not operator monitored.

Channels 01 and 63 are linked for the marine forecasts only and one operator monitors both channels. Channels are monitored 0700 hrs to 2200 hrs all year round

Local Kaikoura fisher Pete with his 17kg kingi

Jay’s snapper bonanza such a drone

Cade Ogle

After the usual family Christmas get togethers we took the opportunity to venture up to Northland for a few days in the camper and tested out the new with a few mates. After sending a a swim on New Year’s, I splashed out on a late Christmas pressy for myself—a Splashpro 4. Perfect to test up on 90 Mile Beach.

However, the highlight came while visiting friends in Kaitaia where we were lucky enough to have timed our trip with a local

John managed to slip a couple of Wellington imports onto his boat. Northland didn’t disappoint.

With water as warm as a bath and the sun beating down, it started off with a slow start with a few snags, but John upheld his reputation and a worried face on the skipper until with the other half after landing a nice panny I handed the rod over and ‘bang’, Jay pulled in a prize winner. Okay, my turn and another panny so I hand it back and again— ‘bang’—she gets another. I am now

Needless to say, the drone got outdone by the boat, with the skipper putting us on the right spot and a bit of beginners luck with Jay taking out 1st and 2nd with a whopper and another of similar size. The boat took out the top three spots. After a few bevvies that around and I think it’s likely that the rules may be changed next year to exclude Looking

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Jay had the Midas touch

Kingfish are on the move

In an earlier article, we discussed the New

tagging that the commercial sector has been doing in the jack mackerel and hoki

taken as bycatch. We are happy to report that some

now showing up in areas far beyond where they were tagged.

not normally move outside local areas and are mainly caught within 50 miles of where they were tagged and are also capable of travelling long distances (over 100 miles) from where they were tagged. Some have even crossed the Tasman Sea.

database records the release and recapture information. The map shows the locations where the commercial (bronze mark with T) and where they were recaptured (light green mark). The other locations relate to

the North Island (red mark with R), which travelled a minimum distance of 100 nautical miles to their recapture location (light blue mark with black diamond)

The locations shown are was tagged and the position it was recaptured. There are at large.

All three commercially

Te Raukura off Taranaki/ Farewell Spit over a period of a fortnight at the end of 2020 and it took about 11months for them to be recaptured by recreational vessels at the sites indicated.

It is unclear which path the

Te Raukura in Taranaki took Hauraki Gulf region, further recaptures may shed some light on that. The jack

where possible. We thank all the crews who are doing this reporting the recaptures.

It is encouraging to have

given that they are showing changes more recently in their migration. It is not in Foveaux Strait whereas

in past years that was a very rare sight. The more data we can get through the tagging programme will assist us in

and give us a better picture of what this important recreational and commercial species gets up to.

in the photo. Those used by the commercial sector are exactly the same as used in the recreational sector. The information on the tag includes a sequential number and contact details for return of information to

which is supported by Fisheries New Zealand and the New Zealand Sport

commercial tags being purchased by Deepwater Group and Southern Inshore

Fisheries Management

If you catch a kingfish with a tag, make sure you record the position, fish length and weight (if possible) and either enter it on the www. fishtagnz.co.nz site or hand it into your local sport fishing club or post to Gamefish Tagging, Fisheries NZ, PO Box 53030, Auckland 2150.

Kenepuru’s Ray Kingi surprises

Dicky Hayward and I were on a bit of a mish to catch after dark beasts up the Kenepuru. We’d anchored off Snapper Point in the hope of connecting with those big chunky snapper that haunt the area after sundown. Of course, it’s never a given, since rays and sharks are often the by product of an all night vigil.

piece Katana rod/baitrunner combo and was straylining a lazy pillie for bait. The pill was a bit too lazy because it sat out all night without attracting the target species. Talk about waiting patiently. I was knackered.

Dawn eventually came in with the tide and the ol’ Shimano Baitrunner screamed. I thought it was just a ray so stood up

and just leaned back all unenthused like, ha, set the hook like I didn’t care and decided I would just play it in for practice. It gave my arms a good work out and woke me up a bit, but the enthusiasm levels didn’t peak.

After a good stouch that saw the ray do a few powerful runs before circling the boat, as they do, it broached the surface and that’s when the hollerin’ and hootin’ kicked in. Ray Kingi appeared alongside and the mood certainly changed. It was iki’d, iced and destined

We gravlax’d it into rectangles, for a week or so and then ate it sliced onto a wasabi mayo.

Cou a’s Cut:

There’s an old saying a man only gets one good woman and one good dog in his lifetime. Without sounding like one of those sensitive new age guys women seem to be attracted to these days, I suppose I have to admit the bit about the woman could be right at a stretch. As far as the dogs go, I suppose I will always look back and have my favourites, or should I say the ones that stick in my memory.

My last gun dog and my

Josh Harley

Coutta

current one are hard to one Bella, a black lab, has it as a hunting dog by a small nose over Lucy, my current lab cross but only because she brought 98 percent of my birds back to Lucy’s 95 percent. So, I’ve been pretty lucky with gundogs but with Lucy coming up nine, soon I’ll have to decide if I’m going to go for three in a row.

There are others but one sticks out and I hope no one

A good woman and dogs

gets offended, or worse still, remembers being bitten by

Many will quite rightly say dogs should not bite but certain situations. He was owned by the New Zealand

A lot of people didn’t like Dog Trainer, the vets who had to treat him, a lot of the staff at the Rotorua station and without exception all of the criminals he caught.

and came long before the

own dogs. He’d had several owners including gang members and eventually ended up in a pound, where he was spotted by a dog handler.

Initially, we thought he was about 18 months old but was probably closer to three or four, which made training a

being told what to do and a slight jerk on his lead or

even a verbal reprimand brought on a huge argument between us. I won most of them. Once he learned what he had to do, however, he came out pretty good.

I went into situations with that dog I look back on and shudder. There are just too many to go into but to pick a situation that illustrates his temperament, was not

throwing a stick into the water on Mount Maunganui beach. He’d got the stick and was standing in the water daring me to take it off him. A small wave came in

Most dogs would not have dogs. He spun around and

What amazed me though was with kids and puppies he was like a developed a skin condition that smelled so bad, when was at times a couple of kilometres from my van, my colleagues would pretend they didn’t hear me calling for a lift back. We had had to be put down due to this condition and I can honestly say my replacement dog, even though he was close.

Everyone who has ever loved a dog knows there is a big problem with that. They just don’t live long enough.

Josh Harley with 'Ray' Kingi

Stunning silver brown signs off 2021

Sam Boothroyd

A road trip down the South Island, in my mind, was as good an excuse as any to try my luck for trout in the plentiful rivers throughout the lower part of the country.

With high hopes, I tried my luck on a number of likely looking spots, from the

though I was punished with failure, causing my desire to bring a trout to the bank to swell.

As the trip drew longer, my ambition to catch a trout became a necessity and when Dan and I found ourselves on the banks of Lake Wakatipu on New Year’s Eve, it was inevitable one of us was going to have a cast.

With no expectations of catching a trout, due to not only my failure on this trip but also the lack of success

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out into the dark blue waters of the lake. Several winds into my cast, I suddenly felt my line go tight and after silver lake brownie was successfully pulled onto the pebbles.

The lure was swallowed all the way into its gut and, given the condition and

perfect candidate for a dip in the frying pan. Never have I been happier to catch a trout of only a few pounds and after a lot of time on the water in the blazing summer sun, I felt well rewarded. What a way to end 2021.

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Sam went south for trout

Daniel Crimp with an eye on a fillet for lunch

Cross hares

Kim Swan

Pin-drop-still; there’s

vegetation, no katabatic moving up nor down. The sun is highlighting the tops, its heat and brightness descending upon the silent forest.

I’ve stalked for hours already, searching clearings and grassed tracks for game. There’s nought to be found, not even fresh tracks in the

quit though, there’s too much challenge in a day like this to give it away too soon.

Nature’s silence is absolute but I can stalk and be silent too—almost.

One of my heels rubs in my rubber boot. Sock against liner; a slight friction, a constant and repetitive noise every alternate step. It sounds like a polite wee fart. Uphill, downhill, on grass and on gravel—brrt, brrt, brrt.

A thousand steps later: Brrt, brrt, brrt.

Along a boney ridge, all silent bar the brrt. A hungry hare is unaware I exist. She browses with intent, hopping slowly towards me. Motionless, I watch as a second hare approaches the

the ground, seeking a mate.

Of introduction there is none. The big male, a lovestruck Romeo, goes for the direct approach—the female rebuffs him. Not to be deterred, Romeo won’t take no for an answer.

The female makes it plain she’s not in the mood for romance, with a hare version of “back off,” she makes an odd grunt and chases him away.

Seconds later Romeo returns, pouncing artlessly onto the female’s back. He’s all pace, pelvic-thrust and lagomorph lust.

Very cross now, the female spins and sets upon him, grunting, punching, raking and biting. Fur flies and skin tears—violent and one-sided— “back o !”

The battered male retreats, one ear hanging low. Then he hesitates and amazingly, creeps towards the female hopefully. I can almost hear

She ignores him and resumes

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Despite the brrt, I’m obviously doin’ darn tootin’ at this silence caper. Neither hare knew I’d watched their antics from just a stone’s throw away. Onwards then,

amidst the pines.

On till a sunlit deer bed.

The urine in the bed is puddled and pungent. The crushed grass is slowly recovering into an upright position. Sleepyhead must be close, real close.

Fifty metres away is a rise followed by a long view down into a hollow.

Halfway there I see the droppings. Dark green pellets so fresh and shiny, if I should pause to check their temperature it would be only a degree cooler than the inside of a deer’s rectum.

of the piddle and the poo, will be grazing just over the rise. On a day like this the tiniest unnatural sound will give me away so I gently

The tiny ‘tik’ seems as

Slowly, slowly I ease forward. Try as I might the boot brrt is not to be quieted—almost but not

quite.

Immediately to my left, just metres away, a boar leaps from his trackside bed before pausing to ask himself—who

As the boar blinks in the edge of bright light and dark he listens intently. He cannot see danger, he cannot hear nor smell danger.

been dreaming.

I am struggling. My target sighted .44 magnum than a set at 9x. I was expecting

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have a dark pig in mottled light and heavy cover. The scoped view is but a blur.

Good sense registers that of the blurred image the browns and greens are vegetation, the black is pig and the vaguely discernible ‘fringe bit’ is the edge of his

Young Boris is still wondering what had woken him when my bullet gives him a brand new ear canal and lays him on his side. He doesn’t move till I slide a knife blade into his brisket to bleed him. Only then does he begin to buck and thrash

as only a head shot animal will do.

Boy does Boris buck. It’s steep here, the pine needles are dry and slippery and he rapidly slides away from the route home. Every metre he slides down is one I’ll have to recover with him on my back. I grab his hairy tail and hold on tight—it’s quite some rodeo for a moment or three.

Then its balls out for him been rootin’ and tootin’ and even some cowboy but now it’s a long walk home with a load on my back—brrt, brrrt, brrrt.

Ollie has tuna stumped

Ollie Stump—10years

My dad was keen on going out in the bay looking for some albacore tuna. The weather was looking good for Monday. We had to get up at 4.00am because we

can catch an early morning snapper on the way. My older brother Lucas came with us, then we met my dad’s mates Bevan and Zane at the boat.

In the dark we made our way to the 20m mark and

After a couple of hours the sun started to come up but we had no luck with the snapper.

We decided to give up and go on our tuna mission. We steamed further out into Tasman Bay to 50m deep. Then we set up our lures and started trolling. After a couple of hours without any action, I was sitting on the deck on my own watching the rods, hoping to

Suddenly one of the rods and quickly grabbed the rod. My dad slowed down the boat as I started winding in in real quick and didn’t feel like a tuna. Our suspicions

we saw the silver shape of a barracouta come to the boat.

The weather was calm and the water had a beautiful blue so we continued towing the lures. It only took another 20min until we had another hookup. This time two rods went off. I quickly managed to get hold of one while my brother Lucas grabbed the other rod.

We both pulled in some line but again it didn’t feel like a tuna, as the lines came in real easy. Suddenly, the half and started to peel line real fast. I struggled to hold on to the rod but managed to get it back under control. Now it was much harder

to get the line back in. Dad started to get excited because it looked like we had a tuna on. My arms were getting tired and I had a couple more runs before I had it by the boat, where we gaffed it and pulled it in.

Shortly after, Lucas landed albacore tuna in the boat. I was real excited to have took some photos and sent them to mum. After that, we tried catching some more but only got kahawai.

It was now afternoon, the sun was out and it was a real calm day so we stopped for

after I had put my bait down I got a bite, the rod bent, the line screamed like crazy, almost pulling me over the side.

“This has to be a huge snapper” I thought... but that will have to be a story for another time.

Ollie proudly displays his first tuna

Tuna explode on scene

exploded over late January off Wellington’s west coast with huge schools of big albacore busting out of the water. While a good ‘albie’ season is always anticipated, what makes this season set to be one for the memory banks is not just the size of the 8 to 15kg bracket— but what’s in the mix. Juvenile schooling with the albacore and providing exciting 10 to 15kg but reports are 30kg.

Most of the action is between Makara and Waitarere Beach—although Whanganui appears to be coming on stream as well. These guys are fantastic

They hit lures hard and

offer aggressive deep diving runs. Once tuna are located, it’s common to have all your reels screaming and rods bending at once, so it doesn’t pay to string too many lures out back.

birds and in calm conditions you will see the tuna busting the surface, generally between the 30 and 100m marks. While you normally look for clear blue water, this year we have been catching albacore in green water or along the margins of the green and blue. On one occasion we were experiencing a dry patch and observed a trawler tracking past at 70m mark; we tucked in behind and there were the albies, nudging the trawler’s bum.

I only run three rods and that can be a handful once

lure is set back in the motor wash, the second on the third pressure wave and the third on the eighth wave. I troll albie plastic skirted lures, feathered lures and the Black Magic Jet Setter lures, with popular colours currently being purples, reds and pinks. At this point I’d like to give a big

who helped point me in the right direction—legends.

The tuna seem to be tracking north and are on the feed from sun up through to around 9.00am. Early afternoon sees a second crack at these bad boy bullets, so there is ample opportunity to get a feed action.

immediately is critical, as

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a noose over the tail and to bleed out. Once done, I with salt ice and then bury

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these ‘chickens of the sea’ reaps culinary rewards. Albacore makes sensational sashimi with soy and pickled ginger. Do it right and

Thank heaven for albacore

In November 2021, the Fiordland Marine Guardians travelled to Wellington to deliver their recommendations to Hon. David Parker, the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, about changes to the amateur fishing regulations in the Fiordland (Te Moana o Atawhenua) Marine Area (FMA).

These recommendations were the culmination of more than two years of engagement with recreational fishers, operators of amateur charter vessels and Ngāi Tahu ki Murihiku, spurred by increasing community concern about the state of key fish stocks. Over this

time the Guardians met with focus groups, presented information at Mahinga Kai Hi Ika Komiti, conducted a survey, analysed data sets held by the Ministry of Fisheries, and had wideranging discussions with members of the community at boat shows and because of a campaign in The Fishing Paper. The Guardians also have extensive first-hand knowledge of the issues and status of fisheries through their own experience fishing in the FMA.

It has become abundantly clear that multiple species targeted by recreational fishers, including blue cod/ rāwaru, groper/hāpuku, pāua, and scallops are

considerably depleted in the internal waters of the fiords. There is clear evidence of increasing fishing pressure over time and that trend is forecast to continue. It has also become apparent that an unintended consequence of the fishing regulations introduced in 2005 has been a concentration of fishing e ort in the entrances of many fiords, seaward of the habitat lines. There are clear signs that the current level of fishing pressure occurring inside the fiords is unsustainable, and many key fish stocks require rebuilding.

The Guardians vision is central to all that we do. This is that the quality

of Fiordland’s marine environment and fisheries, including the wider fishery experience, be maintained or improved for future generations to use and enjoy. The community has fed back strong sentiment that most want their mokopuna to experience the abundant fisheries they have been so fortunate to enjoy in their lifetimes. The Guardians firmly believe that considerable changes to recreational fishing regulations are required to realise this vision and ensure that the solution will be enduring for decades to come.

The Guardians have advised the Minister that a multi-faceted approach is required for proposed changes to be successful. The concept of ‘Fishing for a Feed’ is one the Guardians have long embraced, and we wish to align the recreational bag limits with this in mind. We have also emphasised the critical need for robust data that will enable us to better detect and respond to change in the future. Another critical component is finding a way to encourage the majority of fishing pressure to occur in the most productive parts of the FMA. And finally, we have recommended changes to the way

Cray caught free-diving in Tamatea/Dusky Sound. Supplied by: Je Hall

fishing charter vessels are managed in fisheries legislation to improve data collection and reduce the potential contribution of these platforms to localised and serial depletion of fish stocks.

More information about the proposed changes to amateur fishing regulations in the FMA can be found in the ‘news’ section at fmg.org.nz. As always, the Guardians will work hard to facilitate community-

led, proactive approaches that are informed by the best scientific information and knowledge available. We place a high value on the experiences and understanding of the Fiordland community and encourage you to share your thoughts on these proposed changes with by e-mailing:

info@fmg.org.nz

Let’s look a er this incredible place so future generations can enjoy it too

We

encourage you to fish for a feed, not for the freezer.

As a group, we’re responsible for managing and caring for Fiordland’s precious marine environment. Before you set o , make sure you know the “where, what and how” about fishing in Fiordland. Clean your vessel and gear so you don’t take any unwanted visitors with you.

Connect with us at FMG.org.nz

Photo courtesy of Jon Clow, Guardian

Fiordland recreational fishers hui. Supplied by KA Edge

PISTOL SHOOTING

Brian Bishop

Big changes face the shooting community this year. The push by the police and government on the licence holders continues.

The latest copy of the range manual is due in a couple of months and it will change how and where we can shoot—even on private land. If bureaucracy has its way, any standing permanent target will be considered a range, which will require

allowed, but how many shots will they accept as

If you are a poor shot, you might be in luck and be able moving the targets back so as to have different distances. However, I expect they will get upset with this as they have little understanding of

Bureaucracy’s dark cloud looms

our sport.

The changes to many

off as they have had to be checked and signed off for a long time. The Range Inspectors team, which is been doing this for years. This, added with the training of members in both the work, puts us in a far better position than most.

The big question is how many clubs are going to jump the hoops to keep

Shooting on a range is both good for your skills and wellbeing because of being people. Upskilling is far easier when you have the chance to pick people’s minds who have been there and done that.

While a lot of hunters don’t belong to any club or organisation, which is their choice and each to his own, it does leave them

with no voice and weakens the different groups that are doing all they can to both

are hell bent on making life as hard as they can

these organisations stop the

do improve the outcomes with quality advice and alternatives wherever possible.

We have all worked with people that have a plan and no amount of advice, no matter how good, makes a damn bit of difference, but that doesn’t mean we give up or give in, well not me or many of my friends. I believe we are better to be talking and trying, than to give up. Anyone who can think and looks at what is happening in New Zealand cannot but see that ‘they’ are targeting the wrong people. Just look at recent court cases of those misusing licence, and look at our

Poppa Mike

THE BOOK OF HOPE

A Survival Guide for an Endangered Planet by

Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams

Penguin Publishers RRP $38

book I found it unattractive, colourless and drab, other than the gold lettering for the joint authors. Even inside the paper looked dull and cheap with the black & white photographs of dubious quality.

This was not a good start, especially for someone with a strong empathy toward animals, who had grown up with spellbinding stories of encounters with various wildlife: otters (Ring of Bright Water), Elsa the Lion with Joy & George Adamson, Gorillas in the Mist with Dian Fossey, as well as the with Jane Goodall.

However, once I got started— read the media releases and the introductory pieces, I found my attitude changing and a thirst for knowledge increasing. Now aged well into her 80s, Jane has been involved in 17 books prior to this one. Over time, these have evolved from the early stories of her encounters with chimpanzees in Tanzania into books considering the futures for our world wildlife, endangered species, the welfare of planet earth—our ‘endangered’ planet as she puts it.

As I carefully read through Jane’s words of wisdom, her care and passion for the future become stronger than ever. Sadly, however, books of wildlife connections and conservation are not found in many homes any more, certainly not like in my

that void—just type in a wild animal species and there in full colour are movie clips— some true, some fantasy, some it is hard to tell.

As I closed the book at came to realise the reason for my initial comments about this book being unattractive and colourless. It was a deliberate strategy of Jane’s and her publishers to produce a low level environmental impact book, yet allowing the luxury of shiny gold lettering for Jane Abrams. Gold letters they both deserve.

Tin Signs The perfect gift for everyone

The historically elusive southern bluefin tuna is making a strong appearance this year, but in unusual locations. The west coast of North Island has traditionally not seen much of these beautiful fish, but that changed with the new year as fishers up and down the west coast started catching them frequently.

There are myriad factors that could contribute to the appearance of these fish, including unusual currents, ocean temperatures, or the availability of prey, says Fisheries New Zealand’s Acting Director Fisheries Management, Ti any Bock.

“As these fish are new to this area, recreational fishers may not be aware of what they are catching, or of the daily limits for this species.

We have seen some reports on social media of these fish being misidentified as yellowfin or albacore, and because of this some people have exceeded the daily limit of one fish per angler.”

In 2019, a daily limit of one southern bluefin tuna per fisher was imposed because of a significant increase in take by recreational fishers.

“This limit is in place to ensure sustainability, and so that New Zealand continues to meet its international obligations for management of the species.

While it’s great news the fishery appears to be thriving, we need your help to ensure that it remains at a healthy level for all to enjoy.”

Fisheries New Zealand monitors recreational harvest by monitoring reported catch (mostly from fishing club records), focussing on the areas where most fishing occurs.

“If you’re fishing on the West Coast it’s important that you’re aware of the identifying features of these fish, and the daily limit of one southern bluefin tuna per angler.

Additionally, recording or weighing your catch at a fishing club would ensure that it is accounted for in recreational catch estimates, which are vital to managing the fishery,” says Ti any Bock.

How to identify southern bluefin tuna

Southern bluefin have a striking bluish-black back, silvery-white belly,

and yellow finlets. The distinguishing characteristics include the pectoral fins which are quite short (less than 80 percent of the head length), and the second dorsal fin which stands higher and sti er than the first dorsal fin.

To keep up to date with the catch limits and other rules download the free NZ Fishing Rules app from www.mpi.govt.nz/fishingrules

Southern bluefin tuna are managed under the New Zealand Quota Management System, but also by the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT).

New Zealand is a founding member of the CCSBT, which was established in 1994 in response to concerns about overfishing of the stocks.

Second dorsal fin higher and sti er than first dorsal fin

The stock has been rebuilding since it hit a low point in 2009, and evidence indicates that it will continue to increase under the current management regime. The CCSBT is responsible for managing bluefin tuna throughout its distribution and current membership includes New Zealand, Indonesia, Australia, the European Union, Japan, the Fishing Entity of Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, and South Africa.

The CCSBT controls the amount of southern bluefin tuna that can be taken from the stock annually with total allowable catches (TACs) allocated to each Member Nation. In New Zealand, commercial harvest is closely monitored, with each fish requiring its own unique tag which allows it to be tracked all the way to market. While commercial catch is diligently quantified, recreational harvest can only be estimated.

First dorsal fin

Short pectoral fin

Yellow caudal keel which may become darker with age

Dorsal bulge present on roof of throat behind gills (internal)

Horse snapper no sunset fish

Life couldn’t get any better—or could it? As a

plied the waters of the West Coast for 24 years, I’ve over time. The number of anglers have certainly increased, in no small part due to the marked increase in snapper being caught. Fishing has become so

started a facebook page:

Land Based Fishing. It is an awesome community where we share our catch of the day and tips. I also run an based in Hokitika called The Big 3, which is held over Waitangi Weekend and is surfcasting only—check it

out.

We predominantly target rig, snapper and elephant most common techniques being surfcasting, kontikis and bait cannons. However, it is a challenging region to of nature; the sea is often rough, running a huge swell that dumps on shore and there is also a severe rip to contend with—elements not to be taken lightly.

When conditions are good, we drive up and down the coastline looking for ‘holes’ or gutters close to shore. These are demarcated by a settled gap of water between the breakers and stand out, especially if you can view the beach from an elevated

Sam Ngaamo

position or scout around at low tide. Fish tend to hold in these and feed.

Bait selection is important, largely due to the species on offer. We have found prawns best, simply because all three species like them. An important piece of advice for

you have the correct gear before leaving home.

This season has proved spectacular, with great catches over the summer but not without challenges. Some mates and I had been battling hot days for a couple of weeks and were being hammered by spikey dogs and greyboys. We decided on a change of venue just before a rough spell of weather and trucked off to Spot X. The kontiki

was employed rather than rods and, baited with squid, prawns and fresh kahawai, we sent it out for 20 minutes and and let it soak for 40.

On pulling the line in, a substantial weight became apparent—it was heavy.

Then we saw a huge red glow in the waves and it was a bloody horse of a snapper.

I rushed down the beach and grabbed the trace, but it

Without thinking, I jumped into the saddle and rode it ashore—well, I dived on the snapper and pushed it onto the beach. There, I couldn’t believe my eyes; a 25.3lb big red.

The indexed rotating clamping system has 3 angle adjustments 12˚, 20˚, 25˚ always keeping your knife in the same place

Sam with 25lbs of beach caught bruiser

Fishing o the Coast is on the up

A real fire cracker

The summer holiday period was right around the corner and my partner and dog, Pip, had a 10 day road trip planned for around the bottom part of the South Island. I had been talking to Tony at Jayco Canterbury who was keen for someone to take their new Jayco J -Pod Outback, off road teardrop camper, for a test run to see how it holds up off the beaten track in some of the South Island’s magic back country spots.

First up was a spot of which unfortunately didn’t yield any dinner but standing on the banks of the canals with a beverage in hand on a still warm evening was just what the doctor ordered and

via nights stay in a campsite on the river there produced a few opportunities on the evade the net for now.

roll the sleeves up and get some stunning backcountry valleys off the beaten track. The truck was thrown into

use. It held up to rough, uneven conditions, whether pulling it up or down steep banks. I was pleasantly surprised and happy to not get myself stuck in the

David Greig

to an end. We found a nice little camp site to pull into camper which felt plenty

After great night’s sleep we kicked on down to spend a few days with friends

with the trout, seeing a bunch of great conditioned backcountry browns landed and released, but not before dog.

followed us northward up a night in Karangarua and

Self su cency at Makarora. The pull out cooking set up was

double burner, sink and 80 litre water tank pumping running water, all sliding away in a well thought out location on the side of the trailer.

We never tested the shade awning or rear tent

extension, but they are a couple of cool features that the camper adds to it’s list. We did however, use the fridge, lights and fan a lot. The fridge was a great bit of kit which meant we could go for long spells without needing to stock up on food.

of food and drinks into it. All 12v operated appliances never skipped a beat running off the solar and battery

setup

The back leg of our journey saw us cut inland for a night at Lake Brunner where a few more golden browns were caught. The next day we were homebound over trailer up through Otira was easy work and the slim mirror visibility, allowing you

to pass.

We had an awesome time on our South Island roadie tow allowed us to get into some amazing little spots I wouldn’t have thought possible with a trailer in tow.

all you could ask for in a small streamlined trailer. I’m just hoping I can pinch it for

another in Franz Josef.

Eddie with her fish of the day, a nice 7.5 backcountry brown

Dave Greig with a nice brown that was happy taking a cicada pattern o the surface

great

A stag in the foxglove worth two in the bush

Sam Boothroyd

Dan’s little car trundled up the gravel track as we sprayed dirt at disgruntled cattle, who seemed adamant that they deserved their place on the road just as much as we did. The landscape we were about to hunt revealed itself and, with big green paddocks slowly rolling into mountainous native bush, it came across as rather imposing.

After a quick check around the car for disgruntled cows we hopped out into the brisk Murchison air and instantly started looking for animals to chase down. Within moments Dan spotted a larger group of fallow deer plan was staged.

As we approached, we couldn’t help but look around for other animals and, sure enough, on a much closer hill two rather large dots appeared in the thermal—the plan very quickly changed. Inching towards this unknown heat signature, we realized this wasn’t two animals but a single deer whose large antlers had come across as

an entirely separate deer. With this new information now starting to make sense, we nervously stalked closer to the monster stag feeding hard in a meadow of foxgloves, his face planted

Slowly but surely, we edged our way closer, stopping at any sign of movement for fear of this beast spotting us. With no clear shooting opportunities it became apparent that we would have to be right up close and personal with the stag, if we had any hope of getting a good shot into him.

The minutes closing the gap felt like hours, with the constant nag that our prey could so easily wander off into the thick bush around him at any moment, sending us into panicked frustration. But we got lucky.

30 metres from him and it became very real. For something known as buck fever; I couldn’t breathe properly, my legs had gone hands was shaking so much I

was struggling to see through the scope. After several minutes of nothing short of a full mental and physical breakdown, I managed to calm down enough to grasp the situation. Standing 30 metres away from me

witnessed in the wild and I had the ability to get him on the ground, however it wasn’t quite that simple.

Almost all of his body was completely obscured from view by foxgloves, which covered his vitals and any chance of a clean shot, so with no other options but to wait—I did just that.

Eventually, after what felt like hours, he lifted his head, giving me full view of his chest. As soon as this opportunity arose, he had dropped his head to continue feeding. Knowing my opportunities

could be limited, I managed to take note of where his chest was when he had lifted his head and all I had to do was wait for him to lift his head once more.

velvet was rising from the foxgloves again and with too many nerves and emotions to explain, I took aim and squeezed the trigger.

One moment he had been standing there—the next, he was gone… followed

by an almighty crash as he tumbled down the hill. Dan and I practically leapt over the fence, charging into the crime scene looking for any speck of blood or evidence to suggest the whereabouts of my hopefully dead stag but to no avail. Dan, undeterred, reached for his thermal and spotted a rather warm looking ‘stick’ that morphed into antler— success.

I began to make sense of

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what had just happened and its fair to say you could probably hear our chorus of triumph throughout most of the Nelson Lakes, we were that excited. I feel incredibly proud and grateful to of animal and what a stag to I can’t wait to utilize the meat and do some experimenting with different ways to cook this amazing venison.

Sam went to pieces over this beast

Teaching kids where their food comes from

Amanda Wallace

kids (and adults for that matter) should know where their food comes from. This can be executed in many different areas like growing your own produce, which I have had limited success with, making or baking things from scratch, or hunting and butchering an animal.

how our meat for tea got to the table. I learned there was a use for most of the animal, from the coat of the animal to the heart and kidneys.

I grew up watching dad and grandad process animals for the freezer; they would gut and skin them in the paddock, hang them in the garage and cut them up on the kitchen bench to put in the freezer. This was a normal part of my childhood that taught me where and

As a parent, I now want this knowledge passed onto my children. They may not want to hunt or gather as adults but they will understand what is involved in putting meat on the table. We have a four year old boy and six year old girl, both very interested in hunting but they have very short attention spans. After a thing they ask is what did

intrigued by being so close to the animal; they look at the eyes, eyelashes and nose, and they like to touch the fur / wool, the horns / antlers, the eyes and really anything they can’t touch when it is alive and running around. To be honest, I they are more scared of a bug than of a dead animal.

We have taken them to a hunting block close to home so they can gain experience on the hill and in the bush. They love it. We have had them walking down the sheep and deer tracks, down the hill and through the bush to retrieve an animal and, to my surprise, they managed to walk all the way down and then back up again with minimal whinging.

When we have the animal back at home they are in there watching it get skinned and butchered, helping shoo away the flies and pack the meat into the freezer.

We recently started taking them for walks in the bush

trip we pointed out deer sign and tracks, so they are now able to spot it from a distance—although they often yell at the top of their

So there is still some learning to be had in regards to being quiet so you don’t scare the animal away, but I am sure that will come in time. So too will getting them to eat the meat we

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The children are not scared of a dead animal

Ant Corke

Pulsar began the roll-out of their new 2022 range with the launch at the SHOT Show of three new models, with more to follow over the course of the year. These new devices will be arriving in New Zealand soon is based upon the highly successful and sought after Thermion platform featuring a 30mm body tube and a host of advanced features, lighter and more compact that it replaces, but with the same high performance, ruggedness and functionality product.

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LRF. The new Axion 2 series has higher performance and

New PULSAR products for 2022

a lower price than its predessessor, making it a very desirable product.

Distance assessment for precision shooting

thermal imaging

we have added the missing piece of the puzzle to the classic Thermion design – a

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The most detailed target recognition, advanced functionality, and, most importantly, precise gauging of distance, prove more effective than ever, resulting in an accurate shot from a greater distance.

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notable for its versatility, comfort of use and greatly advanced functionality.

carries the Made in Europe adapt to the hunter’s needs. mounting prism for exact

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To eliminate distractions as much as possible, we designed a unique battery cover for the Talion – a rapid extraction latch for fast and even in complete darkness.

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Sinker to Smoker

Ron Prestage

Craig Thin claimed seven prizes at the Mokihinui Fishing Competition. He caught the heaviest snapper,

also had a rich return from

Sol Coleman with 3.02kg snapper.

Heaviest on day seven.

Thin on top at Mokihinui

and claimed three daily landed the heaviest junior prizewinner.

Best lady angler was Mel Elvin with a 4.85kg rig. The heaviest kahawai was caught by Joh Nelson and Kahn Zielinski weighed in the heaviest trout.

and Shawn Brettell, who landed the biggest snapper.

Overall 77 snapper and 65 rig were weighed in by 145 competitors.

Be careful what you wish for

Dawn comes late some mornings.

I’d resolved to head out for

or not, hitting the lake bright and early at 8.00am.

I’m no dawnbreaker these

gidday to a couple of eel men who were preparing to rehouse tuna for export into

the Eels on Wheels truck.

Jokingly asked if they got any trout, to keep one for me in case I don’t catch any. Big

days earlier by a young

only his second day out. He’d even had time for a quick smile to camera as

he played one of them, so I was determined to do well had other ideas. Motor

once past the 5k buoy, the 15 horses of Yamaha power across the calm waters to help use up a bit of ageing fuel.

Expectations climbed

location, with trees standing in the water, in front of clear swampy backwaters, this environment. Birdlife was rife as the boat nosed into nooks and crannies and attempts to whistle back at them brought to mind old mate Garry, who tragically left us several years ago. Whenever I communicated with the avians he’d usually respond with, “I’ve told you before Mr Wilson, don’t upset the natives.”

First glitch of the day was a snarled up leader, which required extracting a new one from its packet, carefully unravelling it and tying it on.

While this was diverting my attention, as you’d expect, rises started around the boat, so all haste was made and, after a few minutes,

a nymph. Wrong again, so another change to a Hamill’s

That pattern worked well last time we were out so I stuck with it, which brought another couple of touches then a thudding, tight line, around a small tree, headed out toward the main body of water and spat the dummy. I moved around various spots looking for more opportunities but they’d Back out on the lake brought a bumpy ride in the rising wind and waves, which didn’t do anything to assuage my growing negativity while heading for more sheltered waters, but there was one bright spot—I had lunch.

Once around the corner out of the wind, life

improved a little and it was easier to cast from a still

Another move further on was made with the same result.

know, let’s persist and show known for—perseverance.

Then the wind changed a little and found me again.

Rowing forward took the boat sideways as well, so using the natural energy of nature we drifted down the

shoreline, casting into likely spots.

The only thing disturbed, apart from this author, was a black swan that swam out of a side water and made its way out onto the lake’s vastness, where it merged with the dark tones of the water and disappeared. With a feeling of discombobulation over the day’s outcome I gave the ‘Yarmy’ another romp to the ramp and headed home.

Stuart Poore’s heaviest fish prizewinning rig.

Craig Thin with winning 3.97kg snapper

Otis Poore with best junior trout.

Fly fishing's easyCameron shows how it's done

In the January 2022 issue of The Fishing Paper and Hunting News, Laurie Stevenson rightly noted two issues that impact on marine recreational fishing: restrictions on netting and more recently proposed changes to bag limits (p.26). Unfortunately, Mr Stevenson incorrectly asserted that Fish Mainland had been silent on these issues.

Since 2020, Fish Mainland has been outspoken on the set net ban in Golden and Tasman Bays in particular. Regrettably, ongoing correspondence with Minister Parker and his o cials has remained unfruitful.

In the July and September 2021 issues of The Fishing Paper and Hunting News, Fish Mainland stated the core of the problem, which was a lack of evidence to support the set net ban in these bays.

In fact, the Government document titled, Protecting Hector’s and Maui Dolphins: Supporting Information and Rationale, makes clear that in Golden and Tasman Bays:

1) Hector’s dolphin abundance remains uncertain,

Government erosion of recreational marine fishing

Randall Bess—Fish Mainland

2) There is limited and highly uncertain information about whether there is a subpopulation, and

3) The overlap of dolphin density with set nets and, therefore risk, is much less certain than elsewhere due to the very low densities of dolphins.

In addition, there was no information in these documents about mitigating risk by extending the ban into the Bays’ estuaries, rivers, lagoons and inlets.

This dearth of information meant that the risk management options proposed to Ministers were based on observations, but none appear to pertain to recreational fishing in the Bays or inland waterways.

Fish Mainland fully supported applying the ban where netting posed a risk to dolphins. But the government should not have banned netting where there was no risk.

With the support of local set netters, Fish Mainland is preparing a complaint with the Parliamentary Regulations Review Committee regarding the Fisheries (Hector’s and Maui) Amendment Regulations 2020.

In the December 2021 issue of The Fishing Paper and Hunting News, and in its submission to Fisheries New Zealand (MPI), Fish Mainland responded to the government’s proposed actions to address some unethical fishers having taken excessive amounts of North Island unprotected finfish species that were vulnerable to localised depletion.

But Fisheries New Zealand did not stop with the obvious solution, which was to propose daily bag limits for individual unprotected species. Instead, they proposed a regulatory amendment ‘so that a [regional] combined daily bag limit applies to all species unless specifically excluded.’

In short, the primary proposal was to either add the unprotected species to an existing regional combined daily bag limit, or worse yet (Fisheries New Zealand’s preference) expand the combined limits to also include those species that already have individual limits. The secondary proposal included retaining the regional combined daily

limits or reducing those limits now at 30 fish per day to 20 fish solely for the purpose of ‘nationwide consistency.’

The result of these onesize-fits-all proposals would reduce the daily quantum of fish that fishers can lawfully take and therefore, erode their current level of access to fisheries resources.

Fish Mainland asserted

that there is no evidential base to support altering the combined limits to solve the problem. Accordingly, the current regional combined daily bag limits should remain intact with no other species added to the combined limits.

Furthermore, if there was a problem, it should be mitigated with an individual species limit, such has

been

and most other species important to South Island recreational fishers. If future changes may be needed, Fish Mainland urged Fisheries New Zealand to first listen to what South Island fishers have to say regarding local knowledge and the feasibility of options to solve the problem.

done with blue cod

Rig wrangle ends in fisticuffs

Daniel Crimp

The sand was smooth all over, not a footprint or mark anywhere, completely fresh and untouched. The sun lifted, slowly creeping up casting light on the picturesque sand and glass

stood tall above the beach, silently waiting for a bite.

I had spent the early hours of the morning wrestling paddle crabs under the beam of my head torch in the sandy shallows. I dealt with a few nasty pinches from crabs that were “destined” to

worth it, when I could sit back on the sand and watch my lines soak in the drink with a fresh paddle crab on,

waiting for a hungry rig. It had been a really good season for rig, with lots being caught and some really big ones.

My biggest for the season was 14lb, so I was yet to get a monster. If there was ever a time for a beast to sni out my bait, it was now.

I waited in silence, thinking of everything and nothing. There were no birds chirping, no waves crashing and no people talking; it was tranquil and calming. While relaxing, I made sure to

keep an eye on my rod and just caught a glimpse of it quietly bending over and not stopping. All of a sudden noise exploded from the reel. I leapt up and raced over, disturbing the unmarked sand.

Immediately, I could feel that this was a big rig. The shark took off like a cut cat, rapidly heading straight towards the horizon. It then raced up and down the beach, sometimes letting me get a glimpse of its tail when

before effortlessly darting back towards the deep. It was a real battle.

Eventually, I had worn the shark down enough that

I could get him in close. While dragging him up my line went slack as the old rusty hook snapped in its mouth. I dropped my rod and dove onto the thrashing shark. I wrestled it up the beach before he delivered

jaw, nearly knocking me out. I drew a trusty piece of driftwood from the sand whacked it on the head—the battle over.

I jumped in excitement— this was by far the biggest rig I had personally ever seen.

for the family so ended the morning there. The shark weighed just over 30lb—a

Margo Moffat’s monster moki

Steven Shadwell

Fishing from behind the Railway Station during the Kaikoura Surfcasting competition, Margo Moffat was rigged for serious action: Black Magic 7/0 hook on the terminal tackle and tuatua for bait—clearly with an eye on catching a moki.

She cast out in calm conditions and settled in for the long wait. Her rod

doubled over. With the drag set perfectly, her reel peeled out line under tension and

its bid for freedom. Margo didn’t panic, took her time and assessed the situation. Taking up the rod, she put it space as it bled strength with each short run. It was a

Margo coaxed the big moki onto the beach and those around gasped at its in a great competition extremely well run by the Kaikoura Lions. Well done everyone.

Peppered venison and mushroom pie with red wine

Sam Boothroyd

Ingredients

Good hunk of venison

4 mushrooms

Two decent onions

Almost too much pepper

Pu pastry

Flour

Herbs of choice

Half a knob of butter

An egg

Red wine

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Dice your onions and herbs before putting them on a medium heat with a chunk of butter to caramelise.

Meanwhile, chop your mushrooms and venny into bite sized chunks and add this to the onions once they begin to brown. Grind a good amount of pepper into the frying pan and fry until all the meat is cooked on the outside.

Leave this to boil over on a low heat whilst adding small amounts of flour and pepper to thicken the mixture as well as a generous amount of red wine

Roll out your pastry and cut into two circles, one for the base and one for the lid of the pie.

Smother the pastry with beaten egg and put into a circular oven tray

Next add the contents of the frying pan to the pastry bottom before quickly grinding some more pepper to cover the surface.

COOKING with CRIMPY

Crimp the pastry lid onto the bottom bowl and put into the preheated oven for about 25 to 35 minutes until the pastry is a golden flu y texture

Serve up and enjoy

Seafood black-markets have several direct and indirect e ects on legitimate customary, recreational and commercial fishers. For commercial, there are the obvious issues of price-cutting and unfair competition, but the real impacts are perhaps more subtle.

The cost of constraining illegal activity is borne primarily by commercial operators, while amateur and customary users are deprived of fishing opportunity and the potential quality of their fishing experience.

Fish thieves care little for quality and hygiene, which may damage the hard-won reputation that NZ seafood products have in domestic and export markets.

Fish thieves give industry members a bad public profile because reports of fish thieving normally refer to “commercial” quantities of rock lobster—the inference being that (legitimate) commercial fishermen are cheating the system. The inference is invariably wrong, but the public perception of commercial fishermen can be somewhat coloured in any event.

Fish thieves ensure that the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Compliance and Enforcement budget stays high, which hurts commercial fishers as a significant

Fisheries O cers are using body cameras to record video and audio when investigating illegal fishing, following a surge in violence and abuse towards sta . Fisheries o cers have been hit with cars, assaulted and intimidated while trying to verify whether people are taking excess or undersized fish. Daryl Sykes looks into murky waters and discovers…

Fish THIEVING costs fisheries and fishing

activity is unlikely to occur. It would be too obvious and legitimate commercial operators are constantly vigilant for fish thieves.

Commercial pinged for fish thieves

Catch taken by fish thieves is factored into annual stock assessments and management decisions.

When making allowances for legitimate shares of a rock lobster fishery, the Minister of Fisheries makes provision for fish thieving before confirming the commercial quotas (Total Allowable Commercial Catch - TACC). In e ect, the legitimate commercial operators are being forced to make restitution for the activities of the thieves. This is a unique but entirely inequitable way to ensure the continued sustainability of lobster fisheries.

There is no evidence of rock lobsters taken by fish thieves being exported—the NZ domestic market is the target—a market clearly willing to buy. A primary concern is that in some areas of New Zealand seafood black-markets continue to flourish at varying scales of o ending.

The Ministry of Primary Industries led a successful prosecution of a Marlborough vineyard contractor and rest home worker who teamed up to illegally sell crayfish, saying New Zealand had a serious problem with the unlawful

1996 and amateur fishing regulations, relating to illegally taking and selling an estimated 596kgs of fish from the CRA3 fishery area, located on the East Coast of the North Island. He had illegally harvested about 1490 individual rock lobster from Tolaga Bay, which were sold in Kawerau, Rotorua and the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

The cheek of it

On an even larger scale, the MPI Compliance success against pāua thieves is occasionally staggering. In a well-publicised Taranaki compliance and enforcement initiative, one group of three Stratford men were found with a total of 701 pāua, another trio from South Taranaki had more than 150 of the shellfish—and while the fisheries o cers were dealing with these people, dozens more people scattered o the beaches carrying sacks containing hundreds more pāua.

In 2008 MPI successfully ran a spectacular compliance and enforcement initiative.

Operation PAID involved the monitored, evidential purchase by an undercover o cer of over 9 tonnes of pāua (green weight), representing more than 36,000 individual fish. This pāua was on-sold to a number of ‘buyers’ who are central to this criminal enterprise (however these sales represented only part of their illegal trading operations). These buyers then either distributed the

proportion of that budget is recovered from the fishing industry by way of statutory government levies.

Unconstrained black-market activity can progressively deplete fish stocks; fish thieves certainly deplete lobster, pāua and shellfish stocks in localised areas—a bay or a reef—but it would take an enormously high level of thieving to adversely impact the resource itself. Such high level of illegal

taking of rock lobster to service a “large black market trade”.

A man who supplied and sold more than half a tonne of rock lobster on the black market in the Bay of Plenty area was sentenced to eight months home detention and disqualified from fishing for three years.

The o ender was sentenced in the Rotorua District Court on 15 charges under the Fisheries Act

who perhaps unwittingly support the activities of fish thieves by failing to report suspicious activities, are undervaluing their fisheries and sanctioning a loss of legitimate fishing opportunity.

Penalties for fish thieving can be harsh

Commercial fishermen convicted of illegal fishing o ences will forfeit fishing vessels and quota, plus

Amateur fishermen caught and convicted of cheating the bag limit or size limit regulations can lose vessels and gear and su er substantial fines—up to $10,000 for certain o ences.

Given that estimates of illegal unreported removals of rock lobsters have been consistent over time, and the fact that numbers of repeat o enders are apprehended,

The second problem may be that MPI does not consistently capitalise on successful prosecutions and draw the attention of the community to the level

illegal pāua into the domestic market or on-sold it to high level dealers involved in both domestic and export distribution.

The theft of pāua is organised and the distribution chain is complex. The people involved in pāua poaching rings are seasoned criminals, often members or associates of gangs, who are often involved in other criminal activity. Community members

incur substantial financial penalties—a $250,000 fine could apply. Fish thieves who are not commercial fishermen (i.e. have no quota/ACE or fishing permit) will face the same penalties, if convicted, of dealing in commercial quantities of rock lobster. The Fisheries Act defines a “commercial quantity” as being seven times the amateur daily bag limit (currently 6 rock lobster per person).

it might be argued that the heavy penalties themselves are no incentive for proper compliance with fisheries rules. The problem may well sit with the judiciary, who often seem reluctant to impose the full weight of penalties against noncommercial fishermen.

The penalties could perhaps serve as a huge incentive for o enders to be strongly defending fisheries charges and judges have shown themselves to be persuaded by pleas of poverty, ignorance of the law, or extenuating circumstances that, at face value, appear improbable to those who know fishing and fisheries.

of penalties imposed on o enders.

There is an ongoing dialogue with MPI and other agencies at the local and national level as the fishing industry, and in particular the rock lobster and pāua industries, work to devise and implement e cient and e ective compliance strategies.

A haul of black market pāua meat photo MPI

An illegal haul of pāua photo MPI

Seized in Northland after being o ered for sale on FB by amateurs-legal lobsters can still be illegal

STICK YOUR OAR IN

HAVE YOUR SAY…

email all your letters to

Pāua poacher caught RAWE

Dear Ed,

pāua bust in Marlborough at

2021:

It puts everything in perspective—250 illegally caught pāua taken in 2 1/2 hrs by one man. More like 300 as all were not recovered. The same vehicle was seen in the area twice before in the preceding 14 days.

This bust was not possible without the help of local

potentially ban these beach users with their bylaw.

Is saving large numbers

of pāua and seafood from illegal poaching not more important than the perceived threat to a few birds, lizards and insects.

Most people now feel more strongly about the threat to pāua and seafood from the very few who poach.

One poacher single handedly potentially removed more pāua from this area than all the legal recreational catch combined, since pā

Removing quad bike

coast beaches will leave poachers to decimate seafood without having to look over their shoulders

Craig Marfell Recreational Access With Education (RAWE)

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Pāua bust pic courtesy Fisheries NZ

A wee paddle for PB snapper

With the opportunities to get out being few and far between, a short mission before the wind was forecast to come up was better than no mission at all. On the back of a very average forecast and a less than ideal

to the solunar calendar, I headed out around 7.00am with Yolande Jeffares for a wee paddle.

Using new Benda rods from OK. Fish I hooked up fairly quickly; small gurnard, then a bit later a small but perfectly eatable blue cod— just not quite legal unless I took it to a chiropractor for a spine stretch—so back that went.

Weather closed in and light rain persisted, so we stayed in close to our Spot X, or

and Yolande hooked a nice snapper. I was so jealous, this was on top of her gurnard, and I had yet to land one. At least one of us had something for dinner.

“My snapper is plenty good enough,” she said, “that if worst comes to worst you

It does happen sometimes

Chris Heywood

that one of us will catch more than they need and the other catches nothing so we will share rather than handed but, I so wanted to catch my own. Then, whilst I was looking the opposite direction, I hooked a decent sized gurnard. At last tea was caught.

More drifting, then a wee paddle backwards and I thought I had a strike on my

Actually, I had an energetic was a good game. Just how sure; my new rods being much lighter than anything I had used before. I tried not to get my hopes up too much the anticipation built. I played it for some time. Wind on, watch it peel off and so on. Eventually, I got it to the surface, a very pleasing snapper measuring

few nights.

Ordinarily we would head back for shore when we both had a few good feeds, even if the weather was good, but

so far this season we have barely had a chance to get on the water—kayaks and

strong winds don’t play well. So, we tried to stick it out a while longer but the wind

kicked in and we had to call it. It was a tough paddle in but we both had a successful day and that somehow conditions easier.

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Chris with his PB Snapper