Southern scallop fishers pick lower catch

New Zealand's biggest scallop fishery at the top of the South Island is expecting a reduced commercial catch this year.

The southern scallop fishery takes in the Marlborough Sounds, and Tasman and Golden Bays.

It is estimated the area can produce as much as 60 to 70 per cent of New Zealand's scallop harvest when operating at full capacity.

Last season, the industry produced about $10 million worth of scallops nationally but only about half came from the southern fishery.

And this year, despite positive signs in Golden Bay, the chief executive of the Challenge Scallop Enhancement Company, Russell Mincher, said a conservative approach was being taken to the southern harvest.

"Our prediction is that the commercial catch will be lower this year."

Challenge, a services company owned by quota holders in the fishery, was consulting commercial fishing and other stakeholders about harvest arrangements for the season. Final decisions on how the commercial fishery will operate will be made by mid-July.

The annual survey of the fishery had shown Golden Bay had roughly the same number of harvest-sized scallops as last year. There had also been a five-fold increase in the number of juvenile scallops, which were expected to be ready for harvest next year and the year after.

"We haven't seen similar numbers of juvenile scallops in Golden Bay since 2001. It's great to see that the Golden Bay population is rebounding and we anticipate much better catches from there in 2007 and 2008," said Mincher.

However, while the Marlborough Sounds still had very high numbers of scallops, a high proportion were under the legal size limit or were in areas where the meat had failed to reach prime market condition in recent years.

Tasman Bay was "disappointing".

Other major scallop fishing areas in New Zealand include Stewart Island, the Chathams, Coromandel and the Far North.