Scallops at La Maree, the fine dining restaurant at Sofitel Auckland. Photo / Tessa Chrisp
The hand-gathering and reseeding of Coromandel scallops - with some eventually being marketed exclusively locally - is being pitched to the fisheries minister, who approved a two-year closure of the fishery from Saturday.
No taking of scallops will be allowed from the east Coromandel coastline from Anarake Point to Ruahiwihiwi Point, where Mercury Bay iwi Ngāti Hei exercise mana moana, including Opito Bay. Other fishing in the area can continue under existing rules.
The closure follows a customary rāhui placed by Ngāti Hei on the Opito Bay area in December to take pressure off the declining scallop fishery.
The Coromandel Scallop Fishermen's Association holds the quota - which is one of only two remaining commercial scallop fisheries in New Zealand.
Quota holders did not want to comment, saying they were reviewing what avenues might be open to them following the announcement.
There is no financial compensation offered, MPI confirmed.
MPI director of fisheries management Emma Taylor said Fisheries New Zealand will continue to monitor the fishery to understand the extent of recovery it needs.
Non-financial support for the local fishermen and their families was available through the FirstMate wellbeing programme, an independent charitable trust supported by Fisheries New Zealand, it was suggested.
"The Government regularly makes changes to fishery management settings to support sustainability and in response to community concerns.
"In the case of this temporary closure, the concern held by Ngāti Hei aligned with information from recent scientific surveys that showed the scallop fishery needed an opportunity to recover so that it can remain viable into the future," Taylor said.
Ngati Hei is seeking to work with organisations including LegaSea on restoration of the scallop beds.
"It was truly a collaborative response to a problem that was leading to the extinction of the scallop," said Ngati Hei kaumātua Joe Davis.
"I really appreciate the support of Opito Bay Ratepayers Association and following on from that, Whitianga, Tairua and Kuaotunu - all of the coastal towns that pitched in and gave us a hand and supported it."
Davis called on the community to use the two-year timeframe to prevent a return to the status quo.
"It doesn't just stop with a rāhui."
Scallops were merely one species that demonstrated the need for change in fishery management, he said.
"We're concerned about all the fish and species that are out there in our bays, we want our mokopuna to have a feed and enjoy what we do today.''
Legasea, which assisted Ngāti Hei in its bid to close the fishery, said communities including Great Barrier Island and Omaha north of Auckland had expressed concerns that the closure would add pressure to their scallop beds.
Legasea spokesman Sam Woolford said an alternative to dredging had to be found for the Hauraki Gulf, which provided massive social value to the country's biggest population as a source of food and recreation.
"We are not trying to put people out of a job. If we can find a viable alternative to growing scallops without dredging, that's the goal. Without it, they'll all be out of a job."
Fisheries lobbyist and documentary film-maker Mike Bhana said he suspected further announcements might come with the Coromandel scallop fishery as a potential pilot for change to the Quota Management System.
He had pitched to Fisheries Minister David Parker a value-added locally-based fishery that allowed for scallops to be hand-gathered only and sold on the Coromandel.
"Coromandel scallops only available on the Coromandel, all hand-caught by divers will ask a much higher price, there are all sorts of great value-added solutions if we change the model."
The Whitianga Scallop Festival was an example of an event that drew millions into the local economy but had to be rebranded due to fishing impacts, he said.
The renamed Whitianga Oceans Festival has been postponed from its scheduled date of September 18. Its organising committee said this was due to uncertainty over Covid-19.
Taylor said that between April and May, more than 2000 submissions, mostly supporting a closure, were received and they mirrored recent scientific surveys highlighting declining stocks.
Commissioned by Fisheries New Zealand, the work highlighted concerns around the sustainability of scallop stocks right across the northern scallop fisheries, including the east Coromandel area.
Water quality and sedimentation from land activities were a contributor to the decline, said Taylor.
"Addressing fishing activity is part of the picture. We also know that scallops are affected by land-based impacts such as sedimentation, and by changes to water quality."
Locals were called upon to continue vigilance at boat ramps to ensure the rāhui is adhered to.
"The closure will relieve some of the pressure while work continues by central and local government to address fishing- and non-fishing-related impacts," she said.
Chris Severne, of Opito Ratepayers Association, thanked everyone who helped them achieve the protections for scallops.
"It shows what a community can achieve to protect our marine environment to achieve a sustainable scallop fishery for future generations," said Severne.
"It doesn't seem so long ago that we stood on the beach at Opito and Joe made his announcement on the proposed rāhui. It's now here!"
A large part of Opito Bay was already closed to seasonal commercial and recreational scallop harvesting.
The new closure area is much larger and applies to both recreational and commercial scallop fishing.
Taylor said this would support scallop populations, across a larger area of the coastline and is part of the overall scallop management picture that Fisheries New Zealand is currently considering.
Tairua-Pauanui Sports Fishing Club president Warren Maher said the club was "stoked" it had happened in their backyard, but NZ Sport Fishing Council policy is to ban all scallop dredging nationwide.
"We've already seen that dredging and overfishing of scallops has led to the closure
of the Marlborough Sounds-Tasman Bay scallop fishery. After five years that fishery has not recovered and is still closed. We could see the Coromandel scallop fishery going the same way, and now we envisage the same thing happening to the scallop beds off Omaha and the Barrier."
Ministry for Primary Industries fishery officers will patrol the coast, supporting public awareness and enforcing the rules.
Taylor said rāhui were important tools in protection of species.
Māori are taking action as partners under the Treaty of Waitangi with rāhui and mātaitai to protect resources from overfishing. Another example was Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio and Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Waewae, who have jointly applied to Parker for a mātaitai reserve at Mikonui (Ross) and an s186B temporary closure at Popotai Taumaka (Open Bay Islands) to the take of pāua.
• Anyone with information about suspected illegal fishing should contact MPI on 0800 4 POACHER to report it.
• The Minister for Oceans and Fisheries approved the temporary closure to the take of scallops for a 2-year period in east Coromandel, pursuant to section 186A of the Fisheries Act 1996, to recognise and make provision for the use and management practices of Ngāti Hei by improving the availability of scallops in this area.
• The closure takes effect from today
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The couple spend five months a year in America running their business.