Hawke’s Bay recreational fisherman Wayne Bicknell (left) and commercial fisherman Rick Burch support the long-standing agreement. Also pictured is Springs Box zone. Photo / Seafood NZ
Hawke’s Bay recreational fisherman Wayne Bicknell (left) and commercial fisherman Rick Burch support the long-standing agreement. Also pictured is Springs Box zone. Photo / Seafood NZ
A gentleman’s agreement has helped revive snapper and gurnard stocks in Hawke Bay, with a survey suggesting the population has doubled in a large fishing area off the coast of Napier.
A unique fishing agreement which has become the “envy” of other fishing hotspots around the country hasbeen in place for almost a decade in the region.
The voluntary agreement includes a pause on commercial fishing (apart from tuna trawling) in an area known as Springs Box from December to February.
Springs Box covers roughly 230 sq km of ocean, east of Napier Port, and is considered a spawning area for snapper and gurnard.
The ban is not enforced by any Government agency, or even listed as an official marine protected area, but has been widely respected by commercial fishing companies who steer clear of it every summer.
A survey run by the Hawke’s Bay Sports Fishing Club, conducted during their fishing competitions, has kept tabs on how fish are recovering in that zone.
Hawke’s Bay Sports Fishing Club life member Wayne Bicknell, who sits on regional and national recreational fishing boards, said the agreement was having a big impact.
“There is definitely an increase in snapper and gurnard, for sure,” he said.
“Other places around the country are in envy of [the agreement] - they say ‘how did you do that?’
“It is a really good agreement.”
He provided a survey which showed the average daily catch per person in that fishing area increased from just over one gurnard in 2014 to almost three in 2022, and from less than half a snapper in 2014 to 1.25 snapper in 2022.
He said the stocks were not as high as they once were but it was a good increase.
A survey run by Hawke's Bay Sports Fishing Club showing the increase in gurnard and snapper. Photo / HBSFC
The agreement was born out of meetings organised by the Ministry for Primary Industries around 2015, involving mainly recreational fishing groups and commercial fishing companies.
The at-times fiery meetings were organised to settle tensions regarding fishing in Hawke Bay and a perceived dwindling number of fish.
Both parties agreed snapper and gurnard spawn in the Springs Box from December to January, which Bicknell said led to the “handshake agreement”.
“We agreed we needed to do something to protect that area while it’s spawning.
“So, we started to get this voluntary arrangement going, drawing up the box area together.”
He said people down the coast did raise concerns it would just push the issue elsewhere, but Bicknell said it was only in place for three months and generally trawlers went out to deeper waters.
Commercial fisher Rick Burch said the agreement had helped the relationship between parties.
“We both stand up for our organisations,” he said, of his good friend Bicknell.
“But we’ve found ways to work around things.”
He said the map took a bit of finessing as commercial fishers realised it was initially too close to Cape Kidnappers, which was a safety concern.
“If a southerly hit, we need somewhere to swing into safely to pull our nets on board. So, we shifted it north by a few miles to give us a bit more room.”
He said one of the positive outcomes of the agreement was it had grown respect for commercial fishers in the region.
Seafood New Zealand chief executive Jeremy Helson said he was pleased to see the arrangement had continued.
“Hawke’s Bay really has something special here.”
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.
