The Fishing Paper & Hunting News March 2020 issue 174

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March 2020 Issue 174

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elephant fish Sounds angler Max Barclay

 Happy hooker  Straylining techniques  ROAR 2020 On the yard now...

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2

THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - MARCH 2020

Red Warning weather rattles Fiordland

The scale of media coverage of natural disasters over recent years amounts to an assault on our sensibilities: mega floods, wildfires, mudslides, catastrophic extreme weather events… the coronavirus. While technology benefits us with realtime reporting, live streaming, and information overload, the downside is often a numbing or desensitising of people’s reaction to the magnitude of the event. The old newspaper front page adage, ‘If it bleeds, it leads’, has never been truer but the competition for sound bytes means sensational aspects are more often highlighted at the expense of balanced reporting and we, therefore, receive a skewed perspective of things.

Lost in translation are the nuances of how a disaster impacts on communities and localities—not just the visible, raw consequences but the subsurface stuff.

The ripple effect.

Repairing the Te Anau-Milford Highway, photo credit Emergency Management Southland

Dramatic localised events at home are more confronting but the implications still not always understood. Take, for example, the unprecedented Red Warning weather event in early February that dropped a staggering volume of rain in Fiordland, causing massive landslides, severely damaging roads, tracks, bridges, huts, and even diverting the mouth of the Hollyford River at Martins Bay. Milford township was isolated, with the iconic Te Anau to Piopiotahi Milford Sound road reopened to limited convoys of commercial vehicles—largely carrying tourists—on 21 February. Full repairs will likely take over a year and access to the Hollyford is crystal ball gazing.

The timing of the disaster couldn’t be worse for commercial operators in Te Anau, being peak tourist season for both Piopiotahi Milford and Patea Doubtful Sounds, but they are valiantly working to sustain their businesses and mitigate the impact.

Landslip at historic Gunns Camp, Hollyford Valley, photo credit Emergency Management Southland While a limited number of tourists are trickling in, there is still no road access for recreational users of northern Fiordland.

real risk then being localised depletion in other areas, which can prove damaging to sensitive species like blue cod.”

Another question to consider is, what are the downstream impacts on the Fiordland Marine Area. Also, does the role of the Fiordland Marine Guardians differ when large scale events such as this take place?

The Fiordland Marine Area is unique because of its size, diversity, relative isolation, and the small degree of protection afforded it by weather and sea conditions, but it is still susceptible to changes in human activity, particularly fishing pressure. For this reason, the Fiordland Marine Guardians need to understand how people’s use of coastal Fiordland, including fishing effort, is likely to change in response to the flooding event and the closures. For example, some operators and independent fishers have been able to shift their activity to Patea Doubtful Sound, but how this shift is going to impact on fish stocks and people's wilderness and fishing experience is yet to be fully understood.

“Our role remains the same”, says Rebecca McLeod, Chair of the Fiordland Marine Guardians. “We bring it back to our core purpose and our vision for the Fiordland Marine Area, and that is working with users of coastal Fiordland to ensure that the quality of Fiordland’s marine environment, including the wider fishery experience, be maintained and improved for future generations.

But we are mindful of the challenges Kaikoura faced when cut off by the 2016 earthquake. In terms of fishing, diving, and shellfish gathering, closed areas offered localised respite, but the catch effort was simply transferred to other areas and, in some cases, concentrated. The

While the goal to maintain and improve the quality of the Fiordland experience remains the same, the ‘seascape’ has taken on an entirely new look—and brings with it a different raft of challenges.

Ask a local – Boating in Fiordland is a privilege And with privilege comes responsibility.

As a group, we’re responsible for managing and caring for Fiordland’s precious marine environment.

Before you venture into Fiordland ask a local.

Collectively, the Fiordland Marine Guardians represent the knowledge/mātauranga and experience of Fiordland users. Whether it’s about safe anchorages, fishing regulations, or requirements for a Clean Vessel Pass for Fiordland, connect with us at FMG.org.nz

Photo courtesy of Dirty Dive South

Issue 174 3

A heart-felt rig Billy Cranshaw

Over spring and summer, elephant fish attract a lot of attention from surfcasters along the east coast and it’s no wonder—they put up a good scrap on the rod and

aren’t too tardy on the table as well. Late in the piece, a few good ele’ were dropped off to Richard Goodger and his 14-year-old son Andrew.

Life is good today for Andrew

Andrew was fascinated with the unusual looking fish, a chimaera or ghost shark, and mentioned he had never caught anything like it, so a plan was set in place to try and get him onto something of size.

Andrew has not been well due to a congenital heart condition and has had many operations relating to his heart, and many trips to Starship Hospital, with the latest being last October/ November. Consequently,

Finance to float your boat

he has to take things very easy.

We met at Wakanui Beach, Canterbury, and it was obvious from the start Andrew was not going to take it easy at all. His enthusiasm was infectious and he fronted up to the rod meaning business, but luck was not on his side—initially.

He had a few solid hits, which quickened the pulse, and then hooked up but dropped a fish in the surf.

Later on, Andrew’s rod thumped over and, from the looks of the bend in the rod, it was a decent sized fish on the other end. Elephant fish are renowned for big powerful runs and use the big pectoral fins like wings, scything through the waves to get added purchase.

Andrew struggled to handle the power of the fish, so Richard helped him hold the rod while others supported him with the fight.

After a bruising encounter

and a few anxious moments, Andrew coaxed the fish into the surf, where it lost traction and was landed.

And then came the second surprise—it wasn’t an elephant fish but a very big rig, weighing in at 17lb. For a fish that size, Andrew had put in a sterling effort—first class—and the smile is still on his face was sensational.

It felt special to be part of fulfilling Andrew’s wish to land a decent fish—priceless.

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4

THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - MARCH 2020

Top secret strayline techniques

Doug Clifton

Do not read past this full stop. Stop it now. That’s it—your eyeballs will self destruct in ten seconds…

Doug Clifton Hearing the sound of line ticking from your reel, waiting for the right moment to set the hooks, everything comes up tight and suddenly you could be connected to the fish of your dreams!

For me this is one of my favourite forms of fishing and has accounted for some great fish recently. On the last couple of outings the fish were proving difficult to catch with a whole straylined pilly cast well behind the boat doing the damage.

This is a very basic form of fishing consisting of casting lightly-weighted baits down the berley trail, with the key being to make the bait look as natural as possible. My preferred set up for this style of fishing consists of a medium sized spin reel with a 6-10kg rated rod spooled with 15 to 20lb monofilament. I prefer fishing with monofilament when straylining as I believe it allows the bait to drift more naturally.

When fishing over sand or flat ground, I use about a metre and a half of 3040lb leader and two 6/0 octopus style hooks like the Mustad Big Red or Black Magic DX hook.

The best way of attaching your leader to the hooks is by snelling them on. You can either snell both hooks on or leave one running free, this keeps your hooks inline with each other and makes for better bait Jake Gardiner muscled his way onto the board with this nuggety snapper.

Doug about to saddle this 'horse' and ride it home

presentation. There are some great tutorials online demonstrating this rig and the good buggers in the local tackle shop will be more than happy to walk you through it. Depending on the depth of water and speed of

current you will need a small amount of weight to get your bait down. For anything around 20 metres I use either a quarter to half ounce ball sinker depending on the current.

The key to success with Greg Gardiner goes for bronze

this sort of fishing is to pump a good berley trail. We will often run a berley both on the surface and the bottom to maximize our chances.

I find the humble old pilly works as well as anything.

Have a dig through the bait

freezer to find the right size to be fished whole. When baiting your hooks be sure to leave the points of the hooks exposed to maximize your hook up rates. Positioning your hooks parallel to each, with a half hitch around Mia Gardiner over the moon with her snapper

the tail of the bait keeps everything tidy. Remember when the fish picks up the bait don’t strike straight away, let it run off with the bait, count to five in your head before setting the hooks!

Issue 174 5

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6

THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - MARCH 2020

‘Two-hundy’ pāua possible?

Rowan Hook

If there is one thing Southland has taught me… its always bring a thermos when diving. Even during summer, stripping down and getting into my wetsuit can be a manhood shrinking experience. A thermos of hot water is always at hand to keep the brisk temperature away.

With the boat loaded up and the boys chomping at the bit to get into the water, we steamed out of Bluff on a dull grey morning, heading for the auspicious Ruapuke.

Situated in the middle of one of the roughest bodies of water in the world, Ruapuke is a diver’s playground. But this day, the strait was the flattest I’ve ever seen it.

The mission was to get Nick his first ‘dinner plate’ Ruapuke pāua and for him to shoot fish that he had never seen in the water before. I was in over the side before the boys had even got their fins on, quickly breathed up and resurfaced with a beautiful tarakihi. Needless to say, the boys couldn’t get

Rowan trumpeting

their gear on quick enough.

The sun snuck out from behind the clouds, turning the day into a stunner and illuminating fish everywhere.

Nick’s goal was first… shoot a trumpeter. With some quick dives to see where they were hiding, we These divers have their hands full soon had a nice school drawn in by me jigging flasher. Tim, on the surface my spear watching, was mumbling, shaft up and down as a “ Shoot the bloody thing— flasher. Sure enough, in shoot it!” darted the trumpeter—a gorgeous fish to look Nick was reaching the at underwater. I talked end of his breath hold and Nick through a breath decided to let one fly. up.

“FINALLY!” we all “They’ll keep charging the spear, so just take your time and line the shot,” I advised.

He breathed up and ducked down; seconds passed by as I mouthed… ‘shoot it, shoot it.’ A cluster of trumpeter were darting in and back out from the makeshift

shouted.

Nick surfaced like an attack submarine, with a triumphant grin on his face.

I don't think he could quite understand why Tim and I were just about drowning from laughter. In poor Nick’s haste, he had shot clean between all five trumpeter without so much as tickling

any of them!

After a few curse words, he breathed up again and dropped down, spearing one as if he had being doing it for years!

We changed tactics and hunted a diverse bunch of fish, including blue cod, blue moki, trumpeter, tarakihi and, Tim’s favourite, butterfish.

Ruapuke holds a legendary status for its monster pāua, with legal pāua not difficult to find—measured— sideways! I have yet to crack the ‘200’, with a 194mm the largest so far. The boys

made short work of gathering pāua from a healthy stock that thrives on the cold clean water of Ruapuke.

With smiles all around and a great feed sorted it is a quick motor back to Bluff, with a stop for crays. But that is another adventure.

Rowan runs Wettie Southland, stocking a wide variety of spearfishing gear in Invercargill and Southland, and servicing the Deep South.

Follow him on facebook or instagram at Wettie Southland.

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Issue 174 7

The happy hooker Tim Clarke

I was tidying up my tackle box the other day and checking I had all the hooks I needed for my next trip out, and it got me thinking. A lot of anglers don’t give their hook choice a lot of thought but it’s the one part of your set up that’s in touch with the fish. In fact, without it, there is no fish.

There can be a tendency to save a few cents while ignoring basic performance.

and then cooling, ensuring each one had the same consistent quality.

Some hooks go on to be forged to give extra strength around the curve, and all the hooks they were making for Black Magic underwent chemical sharpening, a chemical bath that smooths off the micro rough edges on the point. This makes them smoother, sharper, and makes them much more of a weapon

QUALITY HOOKS SINCE 1991

KL 7.0 pinned right in the mouth where it should be.

Fish hooks have been around for a long time. Most of us Kiwis have seen that iconic Polynesian hook made from a mix of materials like bone, wood, and flax. It’s part of our history. But hooks have been around for a lot longer than that. The earliest recorded hook was made from snail shell and is estimated to be over 22,000 years old. It was found on the Japanese island of Okinawa. Funny that. There are some great hook manufacturers around the world, but 22,000 years later, Japanese hooks still maintain a reputation for reliability and performance amongst GZ 9.0 a super many of today’s strong livebait anglers. hook pinned Back in 2009, I had the opportunity to visit the hook factories that Black Magic Tackle works with in Japan.

Black Magic has been involved with these factories since 1991 and has worked with them to develop the Black Magic range and to keep up with technology changes.

through the shoulder of a jack mackerel ready for action.

To be honest, I had no idea how a hook was made. I watched as they took lengths of bendy, high carbon steel wire and followed these as they went through the process of becoming a hook. These quickly became small lengths of wire. The point was ground down. A barb was cut in. An eye was shaped and then the bend of the hook was created.

At this stage it looked like a hook but it was the ensuing processes where the real care was taken. Like tempering the steel to give the hook its rigidity—too much and it will be brittle and break easily, not enough and it will bend out straight under pressure. A lot of attention was given here to ensure all the hooks got the same amount of of heating

when it comes to penetration. And then there’s the choice of wire gauges, the choice of point on the hook, the size of the barb, and whether you want special finishes like the PTFE coating seen on Black Magic’s KLT series.

Jerram Turney , Spot

X, GZ 9/0 hook

ook , KLT® 7/0 h Tasman Bay , ro un M Toby

The other thing I recall was their testing labs. It’s pretty impressive and it’s just part of their whole attention to detail and quality.

Every batch goes through this checking process. Funnily enough, Black Magic tests them again in their own facility. Can’t be too careful I guess.

Back to my pondering. We pay big bucks for a rod and reel. Braid isn’t exactly cheap and mono adds up too.

Yet some of us skimp for the sake of a few cents on the bit that’s literally at the sharp end. It could cost you the dream fish, and don’t you just hate that feeling?

My thoughts. Pay a bit more attention to the hook. For example, does your choice match the type of fish you’re targeting? And, have you matched it to your gear? I’ve seen anglers bust hooks simply because they are using a lighter gauge or smaller hook size, but then they’ve chosen a 50lb braid and have a heavy drag setting.

Remember; many braids test well above what it says on the spool's label. Add to that braid’s inherent low level of stretch and you find yourself putting a lot of stress on the hook, and you don’t even know it.

So next time you're standing at that hook wall in your local tackle store, pay a little more attention to your selection, and if you want to improve your chances of a happier outcome, stick with the quality brands.

Alex Burrowes, Twizel Canals, G

14 hook

® hook Bay, DX Point 5/0 Dan Govier, Tasman

® 10/0 hook

y, C Point t, Canterbur Greg Gilber

Mike Fitzgerald, Spot X, KL 7/0 hook

NOT ALL HOOKS ARE CREATED EQUAL...

At Black Magic we focus on supplying the strongest and sharpest hooks on the market and that’s why we work with the best Japanese hook manufacturers. Just ask our fans.

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8

THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - MARCH 2020

Five on the bounce for NZ coarse anglers New Zealand has triumphed over Australia in the 30th annual TransTasman Coarse Fishing Champs held in early February in Christchurch.

The competition which alternates between the two countries is always hard to win on the road but the Kiwis have now achieved an unprecedented run of five victories in a row having won in Mildura, Victoria in 2017 and 2019 and being unbeaten at home since 2000. The running score is NZ 19, Australia 11.

trailing on average section points 5.32 to 4.71.

Nelson-based angler Dave Dixon teamed up with son Harry, top Wellington fisho Jason McMahon and Christchurch rookie Luke Smith to take out the teamsof-four championship with 45 section points ahead of the hot favourite Canterbury team on 55 and a team from New South Wales third on 81. McMahon and Smith finished first and second overall in the individual standings, with Dixon junior 6th and Dixon senior 10th.

Pole fishing techniques were the most successful due to the ability to present a bait with accuracy and finesse but at times only tiny pieces of bread, half a grain of sweetcorn, or a single maggot were being accepted by the wary fish.

Jason McMahon with final day catch

Typically variable Christchurch weather also played its part with a couple of days of nor’westers and 34 degrees followed by a southerly change and 18!

The Trans-Tasman is a highlight of the coarse fishing calendar alongside the

Trans Tasman teams of four winners 2020. Harry Dixon, Dave Dixon, Jason McMahon and Luke Smith

A new festival format introduced this year saw teams of four fish across four different lakes in four days, targeting various species including sports fish tench and perch. To their credit the Aussies won three of the lakes but were hammered on the fourth to leave them

Christchurch angler Steve Gaskell completed the podium, finishing third.

With sustained angling pressure, the fishing on most lakes became progressively harder during the week and many anglers found it difficult to catch either numbers or quality of fish.

National and New Zealand Open Champs. All major centres have coarse fishing clubs catering for both match and pleasure anglers. New members are welcome and club details are usually available from your local Fish and Game office. A sports fishing licence is required.

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Me and my catch At Christmas time my family had nothing planned, so on the 29th of December I woke up around eight in the morning and thought to myself, ‘I’m going to go down the Wairua River and try my luck at spinner fishing for a trout.’ After biking for half an hour and fishing previous holes with no luck, and only seeing a single trout, I thought of this one spot I had never fished before. A really big deep swimming hole.

It looked really promising so I took my time fishing it.

Two couples came along and asked how I was going, and did I have any luck. I had just arrived and hadn’t caught anything yet but, I swear, as soon as they left, I made one cast near the big boulders and wammo— hooked on to God knows what! It was weird because I had never caught a trout that would fight and run off so much with big head shakes.

As it rose, I still couldn’t decide what this massive fish was. Then it dawned on me—this could be a salmon!

After fighting it carefully forwhat seemed a lifetime

but in reality was only minutes, it finally glided toward me and I couldn’t believe it—I was stunned.

At my feet lay a massive salmon. But it wasn’t over yet. I didn’t have a net!

Using my tactics, I thought I would just tire this salmon out till it could swim no

Luke Adams 16

more. Then I slipped my fingers into the gills and the prize was mine.

After gutting and cleaning it straightaway, I rung home and excitedly told the family what had happened, and made them come down to get a photo of me and my catch.

Issue 174 9 Everyone has an opinion about shags, especially in the Marlborough Sounds and in relation to the sensitive blue cod fishery. In general, they are not highly regarded and seen by some as a pest, but Ned Wells of the Marine Farming Association argues not all shags are created equal and maintains there is…

A good shag worth having We share the Marlborough Sounds with one of the world’s rarest species of shag – the endemic king shag. Endemic means that this species is found nowhere else in the world; their entire global range is just within the Marlborough Sounds! In fact, the total king shag population of 800 individuals only breed on ten tiny rock outcrops scattered throughout the Outer Sounds.

Little is known about the ecology of king shag and, historically, a lack of understanding on how the birds interact with aquaculture had been used to oppose resource consents.

With this in mind, the Marine Farming Association (MFA) formed the King Shag Working Group and applied for funding to learn more about the species.

The Working Group includes representatives from the aquaculture industry, the Ministry for Primary Industries, Iwi , Marlborough District Council, and the Department of Conservation.

The three-year research project is co-funded by Seafood Innovations Limited, with the remaining cash and in-kind support coming from the aquaculture industry.

The first year of research has included GPS tracking of adult king shag for the first time, which has shed new light on species behaviour and their use of the Marlborough Sounds. A total of six birds were fitted with smart GPS tags, which beamed the data back to base stations located at the colonies.

The GPS data showed that birds travel up to 14km from the colony to feed and that individual birds appear to have favoured

foraging areas—returning to the same general area on successive days to fish.

King shag feed exclusively on bottom dwelling species, with flounder and sole being a popular choice—not blue cod. The birds spent an average of three hours per day actively fishing, with most recorded dives to depths between 20 and 35 metres. The deepest recorded dive was to a whopping 52 metres—we hope it resulted in a decent fish!

The tracked birds all had individual preferences when it came to fishing locations, with some birds making the most of the high fish numbers found within mussel farms and others choosing deeper rocky areas. It’s worth noting that all the tracked birds took the time to rest on mussel farms between meals, including one bird who even elected to

Slow Jigging

stay the night.

King shag are very different to the other species of shags found in the Sounds, especially the more familiar pied shag, which is attracted to boats and chases released fish hoping for an easy meal.

King shag are very wary; they never approach boats and will fly away if you get too close.

Birds at colonies or roost sites are very susceptible to disturbance, and boats approaching too close will cause a mass stampede as the birds escape the colony.

This can cause breeding failure as nests are trampled, or gulls predate unguarded eggs and small chicks. You can do your part to help king shag by remaining more than 200m away from any king shag colony. With only ten colonies there is plenty of scope to share the Sounds with this unique shag species.

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10 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - MARCH 2020

Psychiatry for Hawkes Bay browns Blair Whiting

The infamous ‘wit’ of the New Zealand brown can never be forgotten for me as a fisherman, from the weariness of backwater cruisers to the dry fly refusals of monster TukiTuki browns. Even with a brain the size of a pea, their danger awareness is the

strongest of any species I have targeted.

Trout have strong instinct rather than strong intelligence, being able to retain information like food and associated danger.

When fish have been cast at too often, they instinctively

spook and bolt. Sometimes this is only from a shadow or something dropping onto the waters surface.

Brown trout in comparison to rainbows, have a very different feeding style.

Instead of looking for food in the day, they stick to the

darker hours. In daylight they are often sitting asleep throughout the Hawkes Bay rivers. I have lost count of the number of times I have

Wily browns provide the ultimate challenge to Blair

almost walked on a napping brown that was blending in perfectly with the bottom.

There are always exceptions to these observations, with some of my best browns being caught at midday in bright sunlight. Encounters like this are rare, however.

When it comes to trying to present a fly to browns, it is a whole different issue.

If I move anywhere close to them, they simply bolt, never to be seen again. My approach turns to being as stealthy as possible. With my leader lengthened, body low to the ground, and light flies tied on, I can begin an ‘attempt’. I say this, because my success rate is quite low when it comes to getting a brown trout to eat an artificial in daylight hours.

By standing well back (think 15 - 20 metres) and making a long cast, I can improve my chances of my fly getting into the feeding lane.

It amazes me how these fish can swim up to your fly, inspect it, and determine if it looks wrong in the

water column. There are a few ways I have found to entice a fussy brown into a take. The first is to shove a woolly bugger in the fish’s face. There isn’t a brown I’ve encountered that hasn’t at least taken a look at a bugger stripped through its path. Another fly is soft hackle pattern; once again the feathers pulse even when they dead drift along the current. The movement in the fly sparks something in their head.

One brown I will never forget is an individual I observed at the Taruarau River. He was asleep on the bottom in a very deep pool.

I was failing to wake the fish up with a fly, when my dad walked over with a spinning rod. ‘’Give me a go,’’ he said.

Sure enough, he dropped a black and gold toby on this brown’s nose, waking the fish up immediately.

However, the fish did not bolt, but lazily swam forward and took the piece of metal bouncing in-front of him!

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Kaai Silbery, head chef at the Hotel Chathams, is a dab hand at sizzling fish in a pan but how she gets them there would be the envy of her Mainland counterparts.

While blue cod is the iconic fish of the Chathams and popular on the menu at the hotel, Kaai happily trades it for pāua guts—on occasion!

Kaai Silbery with her award winning wharf moki

She recently took part in the traditional Chatham Islands Yacht Club New Year’s Fishing Tournament, which is run over two days and caters to both boat fishers and land-based anglers.

The tournament has been running for years and is well supported by the 600 locals, so the competition is fierce in the various categories.

Kaai, obviously a proponent of ‘fish your feet first’, was targeting moki from the Waiting wharf using, what she describes as the best bait, pāua guts.

Moki are a popular target species around the wharves on Chatham Island and Kaai’s luck was definitely in on this occasion when her ‘secret sauce’ accounted for the winning blue moki, tipping

the scales at 4.98kg.

The fish put up such a stroppy fight and was too heavy to land from the wharf so Kaai had to go down the

steps with a gaff, and give it the personal touch. Not a bad solo effort and great way to put the seal on another traditional tournament.

Issue 174 11

2020

ROAR Art of the intercept Aaron Shields

Recently, I had a ‘robust discussion’ with my partner—about the Roar. We were socialising with friends and, like all dinner conversations, the simplest comment sparked hours of debate. I was continuing a long tradition of hunters; defending my choice to prioritise a 4-6 week period every year.

“You only get 40 Roars in your lifetime,” I stated the seemingly obvious fact.

The subsequent outcry caught me off guard: “What a ridiculous statement!

How can you measure your life in how many Roars you get?”

My grin infuriated my opponent. I genuinely delight in the confrontational defence of hunting. So for our better halves who are about to become ‘Roar widows’, here is my breakdown of Roar 2019 and what ingredients combined to give three new hunters, Flick, Vic, and Varney, a memory to take to the grave.

a year for the Roar!

I had committed to getting a good friend his first stag.

He was bringing a friend who hadn’t shot an animal in New Zealand, and they

L-R Vic, successful in his first Roar. Mate Flick (Andrew Mueller) happy to share the adventure.

had anticipated this hunt for over forty years! We talked about it multiple times in the lead up. We organised and reorganised the organised plans. The anticipation was electric. The flight south,

Anticipation Each of those 40 roars’ foundations involve agonising anticipation. For some, it’s a suppressed thought in the recess of the mind. Others an obsession.

I regularly dream about ‘that stag’, jiggling in my seat at the thought of what lies around the corner. Will they be roaring when I arrive? Where am I going to concentrate my time?

What animal do I want to pursue? At the core is an admiration and empathy for stag—something only a male can understand. Both hunter and quarry have had to wait

2020

ROAR

Flick sidles accross the slip with Varney behind

an hour and half in which to get lost amidst excited conversation and theorising.

Effort invested There is no success without sacrifice. There is no trophy animal without effort. Shoot a 16 point stag in a swede paddock and see how many people you excite. Flick, Vic, and Varney were starting their respective hunting careers in their 50s; no small feat. No years of hill fitness or acquiring the skill of walking on steep ground.

Anyone who’s started something new knows it’s harder because you don’t know the tricks of the trade.

There is no experience to draw on; everything requires maximum mental and physical effort.

Our hunt started rather benignly, glassing a large gully at distance. We hadn’t been there five minutes when a textbook wild red stag appeared on a ridge.

One hind in tow. It was a function of right place, right time. Where skill meets opportunity—the art of interception. I set off at pace with only one thing on my mind. The stalk was straight forward; up to the ridge, cut

through the pines, cross that death defying slip on the thinnest of deer trails, gain height to that rock, crawl over the brow, and witness what dreams are made of.

This part I love… making the plan and watching it come to fruition. Things went well until we got to the slip. I had barely finished cautioning the team about the dangers of the loose gravel before I found myself hurtling down the slip and slamming into the last pine tree before the drop off. The amateurs crossed skilfully above me.

Uncertainty.

The most underrated but important ingredient in a successful Roar is the high possibility of failure. Picking yourself up after a poorly placed shot, a miscalculation in the plan, or a moment’s complacency is the agony that keeps me coming back time and again. We had no idea if we would secure the stag we were closing in on. Was he there? Would he smell us? Would another stag disturb him? Worse yet, are there animals between us?

How can something be an achievement if it’s

guaranteed? Uncertainty is the secret. No-one reminisces about a roaring stag tied to a fence.

Time spent observing the animal I struggle to call a hunt memorable when I haven’t spent time in the animal’s presence. As we crawled into shooting position, we breached the ridge, scanning everywhere for a flash of antlers. Nothing. My heart was thumping, equally from the physical effort but now an addictive concoction of adrenaline was mixed in.

Where was he? I focused on the area we had last seen the animal, 40 minutes earlier. Plenty of time for him to mooch off. Before the sinking feeling could overwhelm me, I caught the top of his antler behind a tree. He was still there!

It was late Roar and he was holding a cycling hind, but the action had largely passed. I hissed at my mate to approach slowly. The other two followed. We lined up and watched the stag’s tops waving about; I counted five. My anxiety was rising as I considered the possibility the animal would ....cont next page

INSIDE  ROAR Essentials  The latest in thermals

12 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - MARCH 2020

I ushered Vic, more relaxed than I was, in behind the Tikka. The stag had taken three steps uphill and was now mooching toward us. I took time to appreciate the

2020

Staggering surprise in blackberries

....cont Art of the intercept feed away from us. I begged for the hind to come back our way. Another animal roared well above us; our big boy didn’t even look up.

Good luck to any stag that wanted to try him on. We were looking at the king of the mountain.

ROAR

stag, rich red in colour and very skinny. Dark belly, thick heavy antlers, and a square muzzle. A nod to Vic had him drop the stag instantly.

Emerald Gosling-Fleming

Dad and Uncle Dan had been promising to take me out on another hunt for weeks, so late one Saturday morning we finally chucked the dogs in the dog box and went up Wairoa Gorge. We had our two dogs Lace and Sparkles and Uncle Dan’s two dogs Man and Iti.

Eleven solid points were admired by the four of us as we reflected on every step of the journey.

It’s cruel to think the hunter only gets 40 of those experiences in his lifetime— if he’s lucky.

The end result

continuing up the river on our pig hunt.

I was keen as we approached the forestry gate where Uncle has the keys to hunt. We drove through the gate and about half way down the firebreak before getting out and continuing on foot down towards the river we planned to follow upstream in the hope of getting onto a pig. We walked through the bush and up alongside the river’s edge for a while before crossing the river to continue on up the other side.

After walking on upstream through the thick bush and blackberry for another hour or so and having no luck, we decided to turn around and head back out the way we came. The same stag was still lingering at the water’s edge where we first saw it, unaware of our presence.

We watched it again for a while before Uncle Dan decided to send the dogs after it. Uncle chased it too, with Dad and I not too far behind. We could hear the dogs once they caught the stag and Dad and I were trying to get to Uncle to give him the knife to stick it, but the blackberry was really thick and Dad had to push it down with his backpack so we could get through.

It wasn’t long after crossing that we spotted a red stag rubbing its antlers on a tree.

It looked a lot bigger than what I expected. He had beautiful antlers and a really cute face. The stag didn’t have any idea we were watching it from about 100m away because we were down-wind. We watched it mucking around by the river for about 10 minutes and pretended to shoot it with our fingers, before

I was a bit scared when Dad and I arrived on the scene because I didn’t know if the stag would charge us.

Uncle stuck it so I could have a closer look. It was a beautiful 5-point (approx.

90kg) red stag with antlers in velvet. The stag was really fat and healthy, and, although I was a bit scared when it all happened, I was pretty excited once we’d caught it. Dad and Uncle Dan took turns carrying

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the stag’s body back out and I carried its head—it was heavier than I thought it would be, especially because the carry back out took about an hour. Dad and I had a good laugh at Uncle Dan when he fell in

the river with the stag on his back.

I was excited to tell Mum when we got home that, although we had an unsuccessful pig hunt, I did manage to catch my first stag.

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ROAR

Issue 174 13

14 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - MARCH 2020

2020

ROAR

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Issue 174 15

2020

ROAR

BY APPOINTMENT TO HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II SWAROVSKI OPTIK SUPPLIER OF BINOCULARS

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16 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - MARCH 2020

2020

ROAR

Getting a leg over

A fallow about to become victim of the leg over

Kim Swan

Designed and crafted to perfection, Nora was destined to race on behalf of a sponsor. Straight off the production line, she was freighted off like a mail order bride. Then, for a hectic year, she spun her wheels at many an extreme adventure venue.

However, after a year of national and international travel, often mingling with adventure racer royalty, Nora found herself unemployed and unwanted, cast aside for an updated model.

What now for this little mountain bike?

Nora stoically endured a period of downtime as she graced the pages of the great New Zealand dating agency—Trade Me. A raft of personal questions were fielded on her behalf. Then came the bidding war and cash exchanging hands.

Nora fell on hard times.

Gone were her competitive glory days. Adventure for her became an occasional doddle in the back country.

For year upon year she had no choice but to tolerate a new rider, a grey-haired woman whose dimpled buttocks engulfed the slim wedge of Nora’s saddle.

The grey-haired one’s conformation did not befit

lycra. Nope, she described herself as a hunter, she wore loose-fitting attire, clothing so dull it merged seamlessly with the environment.

Her ugly ensemble was accessorised with boots, knife belt. and a rifle sling.

Her pockets rattled with bullet cartridges and she herself often rattled too.

A decade on and Nora has become accustomed to neglect. The grey one (me) is greyer and the buttocks wider—I swear that little wedge of a seat is harder, as is pushing the pedals, especially on uphill gradients. No surprise then on this humid summer morning there is a distinct and rhythmic puffing noise, which accompanies the ping of small stones off taut tyres.

I may be old and decrepit but I’ve managed to get a leg over and Nora and I are goin’ huntin’!

When the puffing noise becomes louder and more desperate, I stop and unstraddle that confounded wee saddle. Time to dismount and push. Thank God. Eventually we crest the hill tops and afore us lays the ‘Promised Land.’ There’s deer out there somewhere, red and fallow. Pigs perhaps.

The early morning light has brightened, the silence is golden. Time now to get my leg back over, to glide down the steep hills and surprise my quarry with speed and stealth.

All aboard and we’re in the groove—or the seat is, literally.

Off we go. Picking up speed. Faster and faster as the gradient steepens. The surface of the track is rough.

Soon I’m standing on Nora’s pedals, backside hovering like an excited worker bee as I attempt to imitate a downhill racer. Corners are coming at us one after another, a slalom course of sharp lefts and rights.

There’s little style or control now, gravity and momentum have me in their cruel grasp.

Nora’s brakes are shrieking, the discs hissing steam as dewy seed heads douse the friction-heated metal.

Stones are popping aside or pinging into Nora’s spokes.

My knuckles are white, my hamstrings tight, and there are deer, oh yes there are.

The deer are stricken with panic or eye-boggled with curiosity, for they have never seen or heard anything like it. The brakes shriek at a pitch and volume as alarming as any siren. Even

if I wanted to stop and shoot, I couldn’t. Such is the barely controlled nature of our descent that one tiny increment more of brake application and I will careen headlong over Nora’s handle bars. Instead, I cast frequent glances at the craning necks and the departing posteriors and continue on my whiteknuckled way.

One last tight corner and the creek looms. We’re at valley bottom and smoother cycling. Well, golly, that was fun. Or not.

Onwards then and we are silent now, me not puffing, Nora not shrieking and hissing, but we surprise nought of interest. The rifle is redundant and a little uncomfortable on my back.

My knife unblooded still.

Until, finally, we cycle right to the property boundary and the locked gate. You wouldn’t believe it, a fallow buck is there. I could shoot him easy. I could prise my buttocks and myself off the bike seat, unsling the rifle, lean on the gate post, and drill him between the eyes, but he’s on the wrong side of the boundary fence. He is on the neighbouring property, just, so he is out of bounds. Buggar. Sigh.

My bottom lip is dragging

so low it almost tangles in the bike spokes as I wheel Nora through the gateway.

I force myself not to look at the buck as I circle the chain about the post and lock the padlock securely.

No point adding drool to the sweat mark between my bosoms. I get my leg back over, straighten the rifle on my back, put my foot on the pedal, push off, and call a cheery farewell to the animal of my heart’s desire.

That’s when my luck changes. The buck, thinking

he’s outsmarting me, trots to the boundary fence and pops over it. Then he jogs to a handy shrub and stands beside it, certain he is invisible. Nora is dropped silently onto her side. The rifle magically transfers from my back to the top of the gatepost. My tired arms wrap themselves into position so my trigger finger is curled and my eye is looking through the scope.

A second or two later and only one of us lives happily ever after. The end.

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Issue 174 17

2020

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18 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - MARCH 2020

Garmin InReach a box-ticking triumph David Tait – Ambassador for Adventure, Fun and Safety for TrackMe NZ. david@trackme.life

As I look at my Garmin 66i GPS Map, I wonder if David DeLorme imagined in 1976 that the company he formed would have anywhere near the impact it has had. He had been driven by frustration over obsolete back-country maps of Maine, so he vowed to create a better map of Maine. This, in turn, started him and his company Delorme producing maps and atlases; which eventually morphed into the development of the Delorme inReach— a two-way satellite communicator and tracker that works where cell phones don’t. It uses the Iridium satellite network, which has pole-to-pole coverage.

In short, the inReach name explains it all—it keeps you in reach I still remember where I was when I first heard about the Delorme inReach and, as a professional outdoor educator, it seemed like the answer to a prayer.

Let’s cut to the chase, staying in touch in the outdoors for outdoor professionals is more than a nicety; it is best practice. Up until that point, being able to send and receive messages was impossible in most locations we worked.

The school I was working with bought a DeLorme inReach and we quickly saw how fantastic

these devices were, but I found DeLorme’s maps for New Zealand disappointing, considering DeLorme’s background in mapping—perhaps not unlike David DeLorme in 1976, there seemed to be something missing.

Even without great maps I loved the inReach and having the ability to send and receive messages was game-changing. We now had two forms of emergency communication as required by our industry and I don’t mind betting that we avoided more than one

emergency through receiving and sending information from our inReach. Early in 2016 Garmin announced the purchase of DeLorme, and a year later, brought out the Garmin inReach devices. I do remember being excited about the Garmin inReach, but I was terribly disappointed when I got to the map, as it was still the DeLorme map. Now I have navigated using the Garmin inReach Explorer’s map but, oddly, found myself muttering it is not exactly a Garmin map.

In May 2018, Garmin introduced

to the world the Garmin inReach Mini. It seemed Garmin had a plan; to take the DeLorme product and make it their own, but we had to wait until June 2019 to see where the product evolution was going.

Garmin launched what I consider to be the first real Garmin inReach, the 66i. The 66i took a while to land in New Zealand but, when it did it, the unit certainly had some wow factor for me. It ticks so many boxes: it is sturdy, features a large 3” colour display that you can see even in bright sunlight, and has so many cool features.

Messaging

Plotting features

In short, the 66i was the world’s first consumer handheld device that combined a full-featured GPS navigation tool and a satellite text message system. We now also have the 86i, which is the Marine version but let’s talk about that another time. For now, let’s wrap up this article by using the catchphrase from a 2012 Subaru advert,

“The best things we have ever done in the best thing we have ever done”.

This describes the 66i well. The 66i is most definitely the product of the years of experience from DeLorme’s and Garmin’s engineers and, though it may be more than most consumers need, for a good many this will be a box-ticking triumph.

One of the best features for hunters is the sight-n-go option which allows you to follow your own path but deliver you to where your downed animal was, even in the thickest bush.

The new GARMIN GPSMAPS 66i is available and fully supported by TrackMe NZ, pricing starting from $999 with NZ based plans, support, and Rescue Services.

www.trackme.life

Shooting Hobbits and election fever

PISTOL SHOOTING Brian Bishop In February, three of us from the Cable Bay Club in Nelson travelled to Wanganui for the River City Shoot, which has been running a number of years.

While the stages this year were designed in Auckland

by Ishi, the boys (loose term as most are older than the hills) from Wanganui still set it up.

As always, it was worth the trip; 12 stages featuring many different challenges.

Whenever we have the choice, we always use two hands (it's only on TV or the movies that they use one) because to shoot fast and accurate, and to control the recoil after each shot, you need a good grip—two hands beat one any day. We score the best two shots on paper—we can fire more but that just costs time—but this match had a stage only requiring a single shot per paper, while on another, single-hand shooting was needed as we had to lean around a wall. Both weak and strong hand was

required. We also had a lot of moving targets that gave very limited opportunities to get good hits. Hell, any at all on a few, as some were quick and others were quite small targets.

As usual, we had a mixed group shooting, Ladies, Gents, Old and Young, everyone shoots the same stages and are given the same chances. We did have a few in my squad who have a little height problem, so it was a bit like shooting with Hobbits—not sure about the hairy feet but I wouldn’t be surprised. It doesn’t seem to make a lot of difference though and can be an

advantage being so low to the ground if there are low ports. Their little legs sure do move at times!

Saturday started wet, which was a bit of a surprise as we hadn’t seen much rain for a while. Other than slightly delaying the start, it made very little difference to the day and everyone just got on with the job.

A big topic of discussion with the upcoming elections, is who to vote for and why.

This was never talked about before, same as religion, because that’s personal and has nothing to do with shooting. But our treatment from the government last

year is still every much on

another ban and buy-back is

our minds, especially with

in the planning. Who’s next?

the knowledge that it hasn’t

Are they looking at your

finished yet, and I hear that

firearms? Time will tell.

Issue 174 19

CRIMPTOON

Time to show Minister Nash your support for Fish Mainland Jim Crossland Chair of the working group info@fishmainland.nz As the chair of the working group that designed Fish Mainland Inc, I am pleased to advise that Minister Nash has shown interest in the level of member support Fish Mainland is able to attain.

Fish Mainland was designed, by a group of volunteers, to be a fully functioning, professional organisation to represent the interests of the 100,000+ marine recreational fishers in the South Island and Stewart Island, and in so doing maximise their fishing experiences and opportunities.

Refer to the article “Fish Mainland – a new approach for the future of South Island recreational fisheries” in the February issue (page 4) of The Fishing Paper and Hunting News.

I wrote to Minister Nash to advise him that the level of support for Fish Mainland shows its establishment is long overdue.

I also advised that Fish Mainland has the support of several South Island fishing clubs, many individual fishers and the Marine Guardians of Fiordland and Kaikoura.

Furthermore, the South Island Iwi and commercial

Jim Crossland fishing interests also recognise the benefits of having an organisation that is mandated to represent recreational fishers’ interests. Fish Mainland has the in-principle support of all nine South Island Iwi, along with the support of the commercial representative organisations that will directly engage with Fish Mainland on shared fisheries challenges.

Late last year, I met with the Commercial Fishing Forum, which comprises commercial fishing interests on a national scale. This forum also supports the establishment of Fish Mainland.

I explained to the Minister the primary reason for this unprecedented level of support is the recognition

that the recreational voice is the missing link in addressing the inevitable challenges in shared fisheries.

With Fish Mainland established as intended, Iwi and the other fishing sectors and interests will know who to go to, and with the assurance that Fish Mainland will work respectfully and collaboratively with them to find workable solutions that provide the best public outcomes, thus limiting the need for political intervention.

I requested Minister Nash endorse our regular discussions with his MPI officials and formulation of advice so that he and

his Cabinet colleagues will be well informed of Fish Mainland’s benefits and funding options as soon as practicable and prior to debating the 2020-21 budget.

Minister Nash recently replied. He commended the working group’s efforts to consult widely and develop the robust foundation documents (Policy and Business Plan) provided with my letter. The Minister stated: “It is good to see the support you have received to-date from recreational fishers and other fishing sectors, and I look forward to seeing this translate into membership as your initiative progresses.

I note your request for Government support and funding for your initiative. I will receive advice from my officials before considering your request further.

In the interim please continue to keep my officials informed of your progress.”

Now is the time to show your support for Fish Mainland by becoming a member for free and making donations. Your donations will help keep Fish Mainland going as we work with Government and others to find the best way to secure adequate, long-term funding.

The recently launched website www.fishmainland. nz accommodates

OPEN & OPERATING CALL US TODAY

individuals and groups signing up as members for free. Membership is open to anyone, though only South Island and Stewart Island residents or property owners who are members have voting rights.

The website also provides for members and non-members alike to make donations, with the assurance donations will go towards ensuring sustainable use of the marine environment and its resources.

The working group would also appreciate you encouraging others to sign up as members and make donations.

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20 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - MARCH 2020

Mussel Francais

Mussel Facts

The iconic New Zealand greenlip mussel is a rich source of long chain Omega3's - 950mg/100g (Crop & Food Research Analysis) second only to king salmon and is significantly higher than tuna or eggs. Mussels are low in fat - about 2% and also low in cholesterol.

They are also a rich source of iron - 7mg/100g.

COOKING with CRIMPY

In terms of cooking, they are a favourite with chefs because of their versatility and their ability to support a lot of flavours. Mussels take very little cooking and are best lightly steamed, either in water or a liquer made from wine, or stock and herbs. The strained liquer from mussels can then be used to make a sauce.

1-2 doz mussels in half shell

Mussels bought in the half-shell have already been cooked, so care needs to be taken not to over-cook when grilling with various toppings, otherwise they become very tough and chewy. Mussels once a week provide a healthy alternative to meat.

1 cup natural yoghurt 2 tbsp sour cream 1/2 chili de-seeded and finely diced Juice of 1 lime 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley or chives Pinch salt Dash of white pepper to taste.

Place all ingredients except mussels in bowl and whisk until well combined.

Spoon a generous dollop over each mussel and marinate for at least half an hour. Place under a grill for five minutes and serve hot.

Bluetooth gives operators more teeth New Hytera ‘Bluetooth capable’ radios have made a big improvement to the wellbeing of MarlboroughNelson Marine Radio volunteer radio operators.

A generous grant from Pub Charity enabled the association to purchase and install these advanced radio sets in the homes of five of their nine radio operators.

“It has made a huge difference to be able to move away from the radio workstation,” says Rod McKenzie, who works from home as a marine radio operator. “I can take the Bluetooth handset and have morning tea on the porch when I’m on duty. Before that, if I went to make a cuppa and a call came in, I’d have to dash back to the radio base set.”

The Nelson-Marlborough Marine Radio Association President, Stephanie Atwell said, “There are nine radio operators rostered on six to ten days per month, working from home providing an essential ‘Safety at Sea’ service to boaties. The feedback from those operators using the new sets is excellent.

Being able to do little things like have a meal at the dining room table away from the workstation has improved their working day immensely”.

Mackenzie says, “These new radios are really fantastic. Not just for me to be able to stretch the legs, but for boaties who get a quicker response.”

Marlborough-Nelson Marine Radio are also planning to have a presence at boat ramps

• • • •

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SPEARGUNS from: Rod McKenzie at ease with bluetooth capability across Marlborough and Nelson during February 2020 in support of their partners at Coastguard and the Harbour Masters Offices.

Trained volunteers will help boaties find the best VHF channel for the area they intend to visit, and can demonstrate how to make a radio signal check call to the radio operator. They can also assist crew members understand how the radio operates so they are prepared if the situation arises where they need to use the radio.

“Anyone can call MarlboroughNelson Radio for free if they need help. It’s all about Safety at Sea,” says Atwell.

Anyone wishing to join MarlboroughNelson Marine Radio Association can contact Yvonne in the office on 03 573 8851, email marineradio@xtra.co.nz or visit www.marineradio.org.nz

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Issue 174 21

Monster kingi seeks new scales Mitch Seek

The boat man and I slipped out of a ‘hungover’ Okiwi Bay on daybreak with clear heads and mussel farms our focus. Into Squally Cove for the first dive of the New Year, the focus being the sinister looking kingies that lurk amongst the mussel lines seeking prey. My first dip revealed only fish that didn’t like the look of me and disappeared in a tail flick.

Back on board, we relocated to another farm.

While this was a solo hunt, I normally dive with a partner because kingies can be brutes to get under control once shot. We generally stalk the ‘out side’ of the outside lines and if successful in spearing a kingi, muscle it hard to keep it near the surface and then drag it away from the lines.

Two divers are pretty useful when a big boy decides to do a deep dive on you.

Spearfishing in amongst a marine farm presents more challenges, not the least more ropes to tangle in.

The last thing you want is a kingi getting wrapped in a mussel dropper 20m long and you really don’t want to be dragged down with him while he’s tying his knot!

I was playing it very

cautious this day when, on the second dive, one of those ‘sinister’ ones ghosted into range, but the sheer size of it and the enormity of the situation caused me to hesitate. I didn’t fancy trying to muscle this beast so I didn’t shoot. But it liked the look of me because it just stood there… so I shot it.

It was a trap! The kingi instantly shed its cloak of affection and tried to drown me. When the spear struck—and it was a great shot, dammit—the kingi was ‘gonesky’, out of there.

Controlled mayhem ensued until I managed to get a hand up its gill, straddle the writhing body, and iki jime the kingfish with a spike to the brain. It went limp immediately.

Consequently, the two of us struggled to get it into the boat—it was that big.

I’d shot one last year we reckoned was well over 20kg, but had no scales to verify this. This fish was much bigger—and I still had no scales. We had a 20 litre container of water on board so did a rough comparison test; the kingi was way heavier.

Mitch said the kingi begged him to take the shot

Best I buy a set of scales then.

Conner claims snapper PB

Kent Blackler

Every year, the family and I enjoy spending summer holidays in a magic part of the Marlborough Sounds— Cissy Bay—where we spend much of our time fishing.

This is the life we love to live for.

The whole family loves fishing so we enjoy prospecting together around the plentiful mussel farms and open bays for fish— snapper and kingfish our go-to species. We also enjoy a spot of good-hearted rivalry too, because this area is a regular haunt of Daniel Crimp, who is a very passionate fisher. Over the years we have had some great PBs on both snapper and kingfish, so this year was approached with the usual high degree of anticipation.

Crimpy and Daniel are

very forthcoming so we all enjoy a bit of banter and the sharing of information.

Snapper fishing can be fickle over this time so trading updates is a good way of building local knowledge and sussing where the fish are. No secret squirrel stuff here.

Daniel had a good start, with a PB snapper of 22lb—a monster taken on live baits! It certainly piqued our interest and probably attributed to amping up our efforts.

Fishing in the same area, we picked up a few snapper on straylines, but we like to

mix up our techniques to cover all bases. Switching to a 6/0 Black Magic Snapper Snack skirted flasher rig, my eldest son Conner was rewarded with a sudden bend in his rod. You just know when you have the attention of a really big snapper and Conner’s face lit up as he settled in to play the fish. It was classic snapper action, with grunt powerful runs interspersed with vigorous head-shakes.

There was quite amount excitement when we saw colour and it finally broached alongside the boat.

Conner was stoked because, at 17lb, it was a snapper PB for him.

Next year he has his eye on tipping a certain ‘other’ local fisher off his perch!

Conner with his 17lb PB snapper

22 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - MARCH 2020

National Blue Cod Strategy Update Since the National Blue Cod Strategy was released a year ago Fisheries New Zealand, supported by a multisector technical group, have been busy implementing the key parts of the strategy, including:

and ensure you get the most out of your

initiating research to better understand and protect blue cod habitat and the health of blue cod stocks, reviewing the rules on commercial and recreational blue cod pot design, as well as recreational blue cod daily limits and minimum size limits in some areas (changes are based on a responsive ‘traffic light’ system and are being announced this month); and reviewing total allowable commercial catches and allowances for our most important commercial blue cod fisheries later this year (Southland/ BCO5, Chatham Island/ BCO4 and South East/ BCO3).

cod you do catch, and only removing blue

Keep an eye on the National Blue Cod Strategy webpage at https://www. fisheries.govt.nz/protection-and-response/ sustainable-fisheries/national-blue-codstrategy/ for continuing updates on these and other initiatives to help protect our blue cod fishery.

• putting a teaspoon of tuna oil or used

Fisheries New Zealand and the technical group have also just released the Responsible Blue Cod Fishing Guidelines to provide practical tips to help reduce handling mortality of undersized fish

recreational fishing experience. These include; using a larger hook and moving from an area if you are catching small blue cod, careful handling of any undersized blue cod from the water if you have to.

The guidelines also have practical tips on avoiding seabirds and mortality of blue cod by seabirds, such as: • making sure there are no seabirds watching and moving to the opposite side of the boat to gently release the fish back to water.

• keeping decks clean and putting bait scraps and fish waste in covered bins • sinking bait and berley below six metres swiftly cooking oil on the surface behind the boat – this will disperse already gathered birds; and • consider using a return tube to return fish to the sea, if effective in the area you fish The guidelines are available on-line https://www.mpi.govt.nz/ dmsdocument/39242-responsible-blue-codfishing-guidelines and at all Fisheries New Zealand offices.

Being well serviced TIDES OF

CHANGE Poppa Mike

A couple of summers back the Golden Bay branch of my family bought a swimming pool, one of those big boxed kitset puzzles from one of the local mega stores.

By the time they pieced it all together and filled it with water they found it became very green overnight. Then daddy in Nelson was called upon to purchase lots of chemicals and run a series of water samples in for testing. This called for a specialist swimming pool shop I thought, as I recalled seeing a sign off to my right as I travelled the Richmond motorway southwards.

Once I found Aquaflow, I not only found all the help and materials I needed but I find Sinead O’Connor with the most wonderful Irish accent. As Sinead tested the samples for me I was expecting her to burst into a song or two, perhaps, ‘No-

one Compares 2 U,’ or ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes,’ a couple of my favourites.

With her head shaved she would have been nearly identical. Regardless the quality of her service and knowledge of swimming pool water testing and chemical treatments was of the same high quality.

As this summer approached and the pool cranked up - yes, you guessed it - a problem occurred. The filtration system sprung a leak with water squirting in all directions. A section of plastic pipe had split, no doubt made of poor quality plastic, had weathered and split, so ‘daddyo’ was sent on another mission - to see if any of the megastores had the part.

“Oh no, we don’t carry any parts just the kitsets,” was the common response.

It was then I had the brainwave - Aquaflow!

“No we don’t carry parts for that brand but leave it with me and I’ll make you one by tomorrow,” said a very helpful Russell.

As I left the shop I suddenly thought of the Rolf Harris

song, ‘Sun arise she bring in the morning, spreading all the light all around.’

When I picked it up next morning Russell said, “no charge, no problem.”

What amazing service, ‘Lighting up the hills all around.’

This prompted me to find out a bit more about Aquaflow and swimming pools generally. I soon found out most of the kitset pools are made in China, often with poor quality recycled plastic components even though the kitsets might have fancy European brand names on the skite sheets. This year the same brand of kitset pool comes with no pump or filter system! Buyer beware.

There is no doubt the extra expense of a locally designed and installed swimming pool, with 100 per cent local backup and expertise is the best way to go. Aquaflow is a local family business covering everything from design, resource consents through to decking, paving, fencing and landscaping, a one stop shop with great service and a wide selection of songs to get you going.

Rob caught the big one today.

Download the free NZ Fishing Rules App to get the rules.

It’s important to check the rules because they change regularly and are different for each area. So, if you don’t want to catch a fine, make sure you download the App. These rules help protect our precious marine resources – for you, other fishers, and future generations.

MFI0018

www.fisheries.govt.nz/rules

Don’t be like Rob.

Issue 174 23

MDC’s lock up & look at mentality

R Hambleton

Kaikoura’s 7.8 earthquake in 2016 produced serious, widespread changes to the coastline, with the natural disaster impacting on flora and fauna.

In the aftermath, local fishermen went to Cape Campbell where they released pāua back into the water. Sightseers arrived in 4x4 vehicles to view nature’s devastation, and they have continued to visit but in significantly decreasing numbers.

Signs of trouble brewing appeared in a newspaper article, suggesting vehicles would damage newly formed rock pools by driving through them. A public meeting was held at Ward to discuss this—Marlborough District Council was talking of closing the beach to vehicles, with encouragement from a local farmer—and a committee was formed to find common ground between the farmers and the vehicle users.

The East Coast Protection Group was formed and with the arrival of the conservation group Forest & Bird, who called for an immediate ban on all vehicles, all chance of a negotiated settlement disappeared. Discussions

continued for 18 months, with an adjoining landowner claiming the vehicles might create more damage to: rock pools, marram grass, dotterel and oyster catcher nests, scaring resting birds and seals, running over katipo spiders and skinks, and spoiling the view.

After a spring tide the tracks of a quad travelling below the high tide completely washed away

Tracks left by quad bikes

To progress, vehicle users produced a Voluntary Code of Conduct to promote responsible behaviour on the beach. 230 people signed the code. The ECPG was asked to adopt the code until the MDC and DoC created permanent rules, however, they were not willing to do this. The code was presented to MDC August 2018.

Vehicle users encouraged everyone to comply with the code, which has largely happened.

The MDC is proceeding with a bylaw that would close the beaches to all vehicles, from the Ure River in the south to the Awatere River in the north. They produced two documents in support of this: The Marlborough East Coast Technical Report and The East Coast Issues and Options report. The Technical report summarises the coastal environment and places most of the flora

and fauna issues behind the landowners boundaries.

What is on the beach side is above the high tide line, an area vehicles avoid.

The Issues and Options report has one glaring omission, the adoption of the Voluntary Code of Practice and education.

Council has taken a onesided attitude, accepting input from landowners, Forest & Bird, and ECPG, but no consultation with beach users, fishermen, and vehicle users.

Use of and interaction with our beaches is part of our Kiwi culture—it’s

Hotdog Chinese gospel It’s no secret the Chinese are huge fans of the super hero culture, with Batman, the Hulk, and Spiderman recently eclipsing Superman in the popularity stakes after police raided a warehouse in Chongqing and found tonnes of fake Kryptonite.

in our DNA— and access to Marlborough beaches by families goes back five generations. Grandparents over 70 taking children fishing is common and only possible using vehicles.

The disabled would also be unable to experience the area unless paying to stay in farm accommodation.

The MDC and staff have clearly downplayed the recreational value of this area, while exaggerating ecological issues.

I believe in recreational access with education. A compromise solution must be found.

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Travels

This new Chinese ‘Super Cult’ is said to be fuelled by the booming counterfeit industry in ‘knock-off’ super hero dolls, such as Thor, Ironman, Captain America, Postman Pat, Ken, and Barbie.

The latest super power to hit it big in Asia is Saveloy Khan, an antihero who fights for injustice against junk food, decadent living, potato crisps, and couch potatoes.

Fuelled by a secret energy drink concocted from lethal doses of V, Red Bull, Coke, Speights, and Earl Grey Tea, Saveloy Khan patrols the Great Wall threatening

to throw off salad-eating tourists, vegans, and anyone who laughs at him for going out in public is his pyjamas.

Saveloy Khan, aka Richie Rod, is a direct descendant

of Genghis Khan, and said he converted to Hotdogism after realising The Fishing Paper & Hunting News was the gospel for meat eaters and real people. He never leaves home without a copy.

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24 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - MARCH 2020 Three C’s recently and unexpectedly ‘kneecapped’ our lobster industry: China. coronavirus, and catching rights unused. Daryl Sykes picks up the pieces and tries to make sense of the most significant and disruptive event in the modern history of the New Zealand rock lobster industry, and explains…

How it all went cray cray for lobsters In Ministers’ offices and across dining room tables and smoko rooms; in the newspapers and on television, there is a crisis in the ‘crayfish industry’. I agree, at least about the crisis bit, but let’s clarify something from the outset. New Zealand rock lobsters are in fact lobsters, not ‘crayfish’. There are several species of rock lobsters in our oceans but the two most available are the red rock lobster Jasus edwardsii (Koura) and the Packhorse (Pawharu) lobster, Sagmariasus verreauxi. They are not crayfish.

Red dragon loses fire China is our leading market for live rock lobsters, accounting for 99% of all exports. The Chinese Lunar New Year is a peak time for lobster fishermen and exporters, when catch rates are generally high and prices paid have traditionally soared.

Rock lobsters are a main feature at New Year celebrations because of the visual association with the red dragon—a symbol of prosperity and good luck in China. Also because they are delicious—a beyond-premium cold-water lobster that can be cooked and served in many different ways.

In the lead up to Chinese New Year, live rock lobsters are stockpiled in holding facilities at sea and on land, ready to meet strong export demand, to await available air freight space, and to capitalise on the very best export prices.

The Lunar New Year holiday this year ran from 25 January to 8 February, which was disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak and massive efforts to contain it. The timing could not have been worse for the New Zealand rock lobster industry.

Chinese authorities closed down public transport in many cities and either banned or strongly advised against gatherings or functions associated with the Lunar New Year period.

Consequently, demand for all imported seafoods collapsed and buyers canceled all New Zealand orders, and requested large discounts on the tonnes of product already in transit.

Personal cost potentially punishing

Do the math… it ain’t lobster science

There are 253 commercial rock lobster vessels operating across the nine management areas—80% having done little or no fishing since late January. Most have been relying on this Lunar New Year period of high volume demand and strong prices, which consolidates the success of the fishing year for the majority of fishermen. There are around 650 skippers and crew across the fleet, who currently have little or no cashflow to service debt or pay living costs. Rock lobster vessels, generally, are not diversified to other species or methods, but are set up specifically to catch and handle live product.

Since late January, it is estimated that over 140 tonnes of lobsters have been landed to the domestic market or processed, predominantly into frozen tails with a greenweight beach price equivalent of $33 to $45/kg at best. The Lunar New Year beach price expectation was $85 to $95/kg, dependent upon grade.

Even more dire are the circumstances created by fishermen’s contractual arrangements to pay around $50/kg plus for ACE that cannot now be used, or at best, only sold at a loss. The subsequent impacts could, however, be alleviated if the unused ACE can be carried forward for use in the 2020/21 fishing year. If not, that ACE will expire on 31 March and the investment made to obtain it will remain a contingent debt.

Hurry up and wait!

Industry representatives urgently sought a decision from Government, as market uncertainty, impending loss of unused ACE, and disrupted cash flows were already becoming very stressful for individuals and companies.

In Tasmania the community rallied behind their fishermen in a time of crisis and lined up to buy live lobster straight off the boats - unfortunately in New Zealand social media, not so much."

The NZ RLIC initiated urgent meetings with MPI and Fisheries New Zealand (FNZ) to discuss measures to mitigate the impacts of this crisis. These included the safe return of lobsters to sea from holding facilities, and the implementation of carry-forward provisions so that unused annual catch entitlements (ACE) can be used in the 2020/21 fishing year.

Progress was made on MPI-supervised release of lobsters from holding pots at sea and from land-based tanks owned by permit holders. But MPI balked on the conditions for safe release from LFR holding tanks, and as time elapsed, lobsters in those export facilities were processed to low value product because of concerns that they were now too weak survive release.

Commercial catch balances to mid-February indicate just over 400 tonnes is uncaught across all nine rock lobster management areas, which, if landed and exported into a market where the prices have recovered, will be worth $46 million in export receipts for New Zealand.

Extended export market disruption will lead to further massive reductions in revenue and substantial losses by lobster fishermen and companies, which will cause wider socio-economic impacts such as inability to service debt, reduced economic viability, and forced exit and bankruptcy.

Unemployment is already a factor, with those fishing businesses unable to continue having to stand down employees. Some LFRs are asking staff to take leave, and will soon have to stand them down, because their businesses are not set up to diversify into other seafood products.

Social media ‘jerks’—off

Homefront damage control Having expressed genuine sympathy for the Chinese population caught up in the coronavirus epidemic, the NZ Rock Lobster Industry Council (NZ RLIC) and Licensed Fish Receivers (LFRs) and exporters, promptly advised commercial fishermen to stop landing rock lobsters until there was some certainty about the market situation. The 2019/20 commercial season is now effectively over, with no-one confident that live exports can resume prior to April, at best.

Beach price returns to fishermen since late January are less than they paid for their current ACE, which represents a substantial economic loss. If those operators borrowed to obtain ACE, it is a disaster. But, with no certainty about being able to carry forward unused ACE, some fishermen had no option but to go for cashflow in order to mitigate potential losses.

The best that the Government could manage was to announce in the second week of February that statutory consultation on a range of ACE carry forward options would conclude on 24 February. The short consultation period apparently their effort to reflect the urgency of the situation.

It is worth noting that in Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia—State governments confirmed lobster industry support packages, including carry over of unused harvest rights, by the first week of February. Similar measures were promptly agreed for Western Australia, Queensland, and NSW. But not in New Zealand.

The level of uncertainty visited upon the local lobster industry by our protracted bureaucratic process and seemingly Government indifference, was more than many operators could handle. Some moved immediately to try and cut their losses and secure some cash flow to carry them through the remainder of the fishing year. Fishing promptly resumed but lobsters were landed at discounted prices and at a loss.

The success of the lobster industry to maximise the value, to New Zealand, of a quota limited fisheries resource, sustainably harvested and shared with all extractive users, is something regularly applauded in international journals. But not by New Zealand social media commentators. The MPI announcement of the short period of consultation on carry forward options, quickly brought out the industry-bashers and armchair critics of the quota management system. Social media pages dripped with ill-informed and illogical venom. It is hard to know why the current plight of the lobster industry generates such a negative reaction. It was not like anyone in industry was asking for a hand-out.

ACE forward way forward Based on the export market disruption being temporary and that business relationships can be restored by mid-2020, the lobster industry can manage its own way through the current downturn if the unused ACE can be carried forward into the new fishing year. It will have no adverse impact to lobster fisheries or to other extractive users—no more lobsters caught than would have already been landed if it were not for the coronavirus. And there is no cost to Government or to taxpayers. Why then, has the New Zealand Government shown no urgency in assisting the lobster industry through this most unusual and unexpected event that has caused such distress to the victims of the coronavirus in China and elsewhere?

In times like these it’s nice to know who your friends really are.

Issue 174 25

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26 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - MARCH 2020

Can councils ban fishing under the RMA? Storm Stanley - Chairman, Pāua Industry Council

Court of Appeal Photo Credit Stuff

Protecting access to fishing grounds requires constant vigilance – every year we’re seeing more proposals for new marine reserves and fisheries regulations that close local areas to fishing. But just imagine what it would be like if, in addition to all the existing fisheries controls, councils were able to prohibit fishing under the Resource Management Act (RMA).

This prospect has suddenly become very real following a recent decision by the Court of Appeal. The legal challenge was initiated by the Motiti Rohe Moana Trust in the Bay of Plenty, but ended up involving a number of councils, the Crown, environmental groups, the Maori Council and the fishing industry.

Essentially, it was a dispute about whether councils could manage fishing under the RMA, or whether that function was reserved solely for Fisheries New Zealand under the Fisheries Act. In summary, the Court ruled that a regional council may control fisheries resources in the exercise of its functions under the RMA, provided it does not do so to manage those resources for Fisheries Act purposes.

The decision means that a council could potentially ban fishing in an area in order to maintain indigenous biodiversity or protect Maori values (both of which are council functions under the RMA) but could not prohibit fishing for fisheries sustainability reasons (because that is the purpose of the Fisheries Act). However, that

leaves a lot of overlap between the Fisheries Act and the RMA – for example, maintaining biodiversity is also an environmental principle under the Fisheries Act.

So, if a council claims to be prohibiting fishing in order to maintain biodiversity, is that for RMA purposes or Fisheries Act purposes?

Obviously, there’s still a lot of room for argument. One consequence of the Court of Appeal’s decision is that the issue of whether or not an RMA rule is imposed “for Fisheries Act purposes” will need to be determined on a case-by-case

reefs at Motiti Island. It also allows councils in other parts of the country to proceed with rules which prohibit fishing, although the legality of these rules is still subject to whether or not they are for Fisheries Act purposes. Most notably, Marlborough District Council is seeking to ban bottomdisturbing fishing methods in 129 separate areas of the Marlborough Sounds.

Councils are being dragged into contentious fisheries debates even in regions where the council itself has no interest in managing fishing under the RMA.

For example, Taranaki and Northland Regional Councils did not see the need to include any fisheries controls in their proposed regional coastal plans. However, in both regions environmental groups submitted that the plans should be amended to include rules banning fishing. Commercial and recreational fishing groups made counter-submissions Motiti Island: and the two councils Photo Credit Sunchaser must now deal with messy fisheries management disputes that are not of their making and in which they basis. That’s good news for the have little expertise. lawyers, but not so great for the fishing public.

And don’t make the error of thinking that RMA controls only The Court’s decision has other affect commercial fishing. Unlike major implications for fishers. the Fisheries Act, which allows For a start, the decision clears rules to be targeted at different the way for the Bay of Plenty fishing sectors, RMA rules cannot Regional Council to ban fishing around the three major fishing discriminate between fishing

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sectors. So if an RMA rule prohibits a fishing method, the use of that method is prohibited for commercial, recreational and even customary fishers.

For example, Marlborough’s prohibitions on bottomimpacting fishing methods apply to recreational scallop dredging and any other recreational fishing that may disturb the seabed.

the Court of Appeal’s decision on recreational fishers that he has launched a petition asking the Government to change the law so that councils cannot ban fishing under the RMA. For those of us who wish to maintain access to our local fishing grounds, the Court of Appeal’s decision means that we will have to become involved in every single regional council coastal planning process in order to prevent the imposition of unjustified controls on fishing activity. With 17 regional

Recreational scallop dredge: Photo Credit Salty Mate

The New Zealand Sports Fishing Council recently joined an appeal on the Northland Regional Plan because environmental groups had sought the inclusion of fishing prohibitions that will affect recreational fishers.

National MP and fisheries spokesperson Ian McKelvie is so concerned about the impact of

councils and unitary authorities to engage with, and with every rule likely to be appealed right through the court system, that’s a lot of effort and a lot of cost for everyone involved. How much simpler it would be to amend the RMA to make it clear that fishing is managed under the Fisheries Act which, after all, was specifically enacted for that purpose.

Issue 174 27

The target species at last!

Sinker to

Smoker

Day Six: Another day of hot sunny conditions. I landed a couple of kahawai.

A snapper of 2.97kg caught next to me by Lloyd Jones, pulled in just after I had packed up for the day.

Ron Prestage

8 out of 10 ain’t bad Getting out surfcasting for eight of the ten days the Mokihinui Fishing Competition ran was a pleasing effort for me.

Only one day was missed through bad weather and sea conditions. The other day missed was the last day but a fishing session plus a prizegiving is too much to squeeze into one day, these days.

Day One: A pleasant surprise on reaching my fishing spot on Gentle Annie Beach. The remnants of cyclone Gita had done a bit of landscaping. My spot was now only twenty metres from my parked truck, with all obstacles washed away. I didn’t expect the sea condition to be so good considering the previous week of rain.

Only a little discoloured and

day so far with a light northerly wind. The winning 10.32kg snapper caught by Jacob Coleman about half way along the beach.

Day Seven: Spent another very pleasant day on the beach. Cloudy overhead and sea calm. More kahawai landed plus a 5.95kg rig by my fishing companion Lindsay Stuart. This rig took out the prize for the second heaviest fish.

quite benign as to swell and drift. Managed a 3.49kg rig. It fell to a prawn. It was good to walk the talk after my December article on catching rig at Mokihinui.

Day Two: Conditions were even better. Very pleasant on the beach and again the Gentle Annie surf produced a rig of 3.90kg to weigh in.

Mike Lee, the fisherman next to me set the competition alight by landing a 6.82kg snapper.

West Coast nephews, Simon and George King and it was good to help them with their surfcasting skills.

Day Four: Conditions much improved from yesterday. A few kahawai caught near me. Nothing stuck on my lines.

Day Five: The best looking

Day Eight: Light northerly winds and benign sea. Good conditions for snapper.

However, after the ideal day Lindsay and I had nothing to show for it.

Day Nine: Strong southwesterly winds. Sea a mass of whitecaps. Didn’t put my rods out.

Day Ten: Prizegiving. In the words of Arnold. “I'll be back.”

Coutta’s Cut: Ramped up dumb arses

After living in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, for a few years, I found myself back in Auckland.

Lynne the Ruthless was pretty happy about it because, being a woman, she was of the opinion things like doctors, hairdressers, supermarkets, and toilets that worked after four days of wet season rain, all contributed to a better lifestyle. She also didn’t appear to miss the frogs that came up the pipes and peered at her over the rim of the bowl.

While she appreciated the fresh barramundi I supplied, she didn’t miss the hours I spent catching them or the condition I was often in when I got back. No matter how many times I patiently explained I had to drink to ward off dehydration and heatstroke, she obviously preferred the latter.

So, back in Auckland and, to put it mildly, I was bored bloody stupid. Due to boredom, one Sunday afternoon I grabbed a couple of cold beers and the dog, who had come back with us and who was equally bored, and went for a drive to the Half Moon Bay boat ramp.

Best thing I ever did.

Day Three: A strong south-westerly wind, powerful drift north and a lot of debris in the water that fouled lines. Water quite stirred up but against all the odds a small snapper and a rig were landed. Having a six ounce sinker and braid line certainly helped in getting a bit of fishing done in trying conditions. I was with my

My rig from day one

Lindsay’s prizewinning rig

Over the next couple of hours, I was kept amused by boats running into each other, drunks falling into the water, trailers being jackknifed in ways I never thought they could be jackknifed, and even the odd half-hearted punch up. There were no injuries, mainly because the combatants couldn’t see who they were trying to hit. In short, it was the best free entertainment in town.

Over the following years,

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I’ve seen some unbelievable and at times straight out dumb-arse acts on boat ramps. Having said that, the latest one I witnessed at the Tauranga ramp, where I might add the etiquette is normally of a high standard, really made me wonder. I had just tied up my boat to a pontoon after a very successful couple of hours on snapper. I was walking up the pontoon when I couldn’t help but notice a vehicle backing a ‘hire boat’ in the general direction of the ramp, while executing the most complicated zigzag course I’ve seen in a while.

Eventually the back half of the trailer got into the water and what I must describe as a very pleasant guy got out. I suggested he shouldn’t forget to take his prop flag off. He looked a bit confused, so I asked if he would like a hand.

“Would you mind?” was his answer.

I suggested he may want to pull the boat up out of the water so we could remove not only the prop flag but the tie downs and safety chain.

He then went to release the winch and I suggested a bow line might be a good idea. We found a bit of thinnish twine on the boat, which I fashioned a bridle line with. We then put the boat in the water. He got in and dropped the motor as far as it would go. The bottom stopped it going further.

After a fair bit of forward and reverse he finally managed to get out of the pontoon area and head, where I hoped, was not too far off shore.

We have all seen people driving hire cars in this country who are a danger to themselves and other road users. May I suggest to boat hire businesses they at least ensure their customers know the basics before allowing them to put themselves at risk of drowning.

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28 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - MARCH 2020

Stella the snapper slayer and Jack the gurnard guru

Stella Triplow heading towards the biggest fish trophy

Enthusiasm was high and the challenge was on for our annual fishing season in the Marlborough Sounds. The kids Shimano Baitrunner 8000 fishing rods were ready to roll, camera packed, teams picked and scales powered up ready to record our catch of the day.

It’s a family affair with 3 generations (6 – 67 years of age) fishing aboard the 5.3m McLay boat aptly named Time Out. Action was aplenty when Stella’s rod began to nod and she leapt into gear striking quickly with Jack racing to her side armed with the net to bring it in. As we saw colour the excitement was in over drive and dad helicoptered behind in case he was needed but our snapper slayer had it all under control. Weighing in at 13lbs with a length of 700mm it was quite a start to the season and so far leading the board for our biggest fish trophy.

The kids work well together with Stella repaying Jack with support of his largest gurnard catch weighing in at 2.32lbs and measuring 490mm.

Big smiles by Jack with this snapper Having time out is no problem for this family

Jack Triplow with an impressive gurnard

Delaware Bay estuary a quagmire Delaware Bay Access Group

The Wakapuaka Estuary at Māori Pā Road has turned into a bit of a quagmire and it’s not due to people driving on it to retrieve their boats but a result of Nelson City Council heavy-handed tactics to enforce what they believe is a no vehicle ban on the estuary, despite allowing access for approximately 20 years. Enforcement Officers have been at the estuary advising boaties that launching is not permitted under the Nelson Resource Management Plan, and have been redirecting people to launch at nearby Cable Bay. However, the Delaware Bay Access Group argue the Council have got it wrong on several levels and are making a hash over a situation that was working well, with absolute minimal disturbance or impact to the estuary.

They say the Wakapuaka launch site has been used by locals for over 80 years and was omitted from the plan by mistake—Council simply forgot to include it, so the whole issue is of their own making.

The access group also say there is provision in the management plan to launch and retrieve boats, with Car.33.1 stating: Driving of vehicles on, and disturbance of the foreshore and seabed. By vehicles is permitted if the activity is associated with any of the following activities: d) the launching and retrieving of recreational or commercial vehicles at launching ramps, k) the transportation of lawfully harvested aquatic organisms.

The plan defines other launch ramps as beaches, therefore the Wakapuaka Estuary launch site fits their own criteria.

The access group says that Council’s redirecting of people to launch at Cable Bay is irresponsible and shows how out of touch they are with this issue; it is unsafe to launch and retrieve small craft at Cable Bay due to the prevailing conditions, public use of the beach as a swimming and picnic area, and the lack of defined lanes. Numerous small boats have been swamped and capsized over the years, become stuck and required pulling out, so, with increased use, it will be only a matter of time until someone gets seriously hurt.

The Delaware Bay Access group worked closely with Council for over two years to develop an access plan that would benefit the whole community but Council bowed to Iwi pressure late in the piece, rejecting the plan without discussing with or notifying the access group.

Matenga Wakapuaka Trust gave their permission for the legitimate launching and retrieving of boats back in 1999.

Council argue for the enforcement of the ban because it is a culturally significant area and site the neighbouring Taiapure as an example, yet they ignore the fact that the majority of Māori take their seafood under the recreational limits, not as customary catch. The ban applies to everyone and will, in effect, stop local Māori from exerting their customary rights. It will also restrict safe boat access to the Taiapure, which has a mandated Management Committee consisting of iwi, community, and marine group representatives. NCC has not approached the Taiapure Management Committee and discussed their intentions with them.

Any changes to the Taiapure must follow public consultation and gazetting by the Minister.

“They treated us absolutely disdainfully,” says Simon Mardon, Chairman of the group. “It’s certainly not the way you’d expect an elected body to behave.”

Council also uses the spurious claim that vehicles are damaging important estuary ecology, when scientific reports show any impact to be extremely minimal. The proposed designated launch zone is over a compacted gravel bar that supports no critically endangered flora or fauna and takes up significantly less than 1% of the area of the estuary.

The access group say Council is using misleading information to justify their u-turn. Claims that the bulk of iwi do not support vehicle access is wrong and it is, in fact, a very small minority who are opposing it. The Huria

The Delaware Bay Access Group has engaged a lawyer to fight Council on your behalf, and request you support the cause generously by signing the petition and contributing to the Give a Little page.

Please sign the following petition in support of continued access to launch and retrieve boats at the Delaware Bay boat ramp.

This can be done in one of 4 ways 1. Click on the following link to complete the petition: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=OPyYc66OX0WXGZlVGZds3f9TXQpbT4lGt2FnrVJk7hlUQ1lQODFTQzc2VEdFOE5FWTVSMk9MVzFDVi4u 2. QR Scan the following to access the petition: 3. Complete the form which can be accessed on the

Delaware Bay Access page on Facebook 4. Sign the petition in paper form, which will be at various stores throughout the region (check Facebook for outlets).

If you would like to circulate the petition amongst family, friends and work places, please email: piesmardon@gmail.com

Give a little...or a lot!

It requires funds to take this to the next level on your behalf so donations will be gratefully accepted, either on line via our Give a Little page: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/fishing-and-water-sportsaccess-forever Alternately, contact piesmardon@gmail.com to make a cash donation or bank donation to account No.06 0958 0210014 00