Whitebaiter's lament: Call to ban river mouth fishing in Hawke's Bay

Ron Worsley says river mouth whitebaiting should be banned in Hawke's Bay. Photo / Warren Buckland

Ron Worsley of Hastings knows whitebait. They are the juveniles of native fish species: inanga, koaro, banded kōkopu, giant kōkopu and shortjaw kōkopu.

He's been catching them since he was an 8-year-old.

And he's watched their decline, too. Worsley says river mouth whitebaiting in Hawke's Bay should be banned, with whitebait allowed to swim 300 metres up the river before nets can be deployed.

He also wants the shortened season shifted, which he says will make it more sustainable.

It was the first day of the season on Thursday and Worsley was there with his dog Ralph and wife Jo on his favourite spot on Karamū Stream.

Worsley says despite the general decline, this season is looking promising. The recent rain that flooded the rivers has flushed the eggs out to sea.

With his first lift of the season, he caught enough to make a couple of fritters.

Living in Wairoa, Worsley would skip school to catch whitebait.

Ron Worsley has been whitebaiting since he was 8. Photo / Warren Buckland

"You could catch a bucketful easily back then. We used to give it out to neighbours, it was never sold because there was no market for it."

As he waits for the fish to swim up the river into his net, he drinks tea with biscuits. He says that if you haven't caught anything after four hours you probably won't.

Worsley says in his early days, whitebaiting was just another form of feeding your family but now it's become a race to see who can get the most to sell it to someone.

"Now you've got a market for it and every Tom, Dick and Harry wants to get out and make a dollar."

He says the Department of Conservation should move the season to a two-month sprint from August 1 to September 30.

A river mouth fishing ban and more policing of the selling of whitebait around Hawke's Bay might help, too.

"I believe they [whitebaiters] should not fish the river mouths - let them get in before you attack. That's one rule they should change."

The Department of Conservation acknowledges that fish stocks have decreased over recent years and this year shortened the season for the first time to just two months.

DoC's whitebait fishery manager Nick Moody said the department had carried out "extensive engagement" over two years, gathering a wide range of views on ways to improve the fishery.

"The new rules will relieve fishing pressure on whitebait and contribute to a more sustainable whitebait fishery," he said.

Worsley believes changing weather patterns, erosion and reduction of vegetation overhanging the riverbanks have also played a part in the decrease of whitebait numbers.

But he loves the tranquillity of sitting in the sun and enjoys the waiting game.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council science manager Anna Madarasz-Smith said whitebait species were under threat or at risk of extinction.

"Spawning areas are really important and that includes overhanging grasses, and they can be a problem if you modify your edges too much. It's important to identify and protect these areas. There is never a silver bullet and solution to this – it will require a number of measures."

Madarasz-Smith said the council's new resource management plan Kotahi presented an opportunity to ask the public what is important to them, including rivers and biodiversity.

"We encourage people to come along to our public drop-in sessions to have their say."

As for Worsley's best fritter recipe? Just use the whitebait and egg whites, fluff them up, add salt and pepper, and nothing else.

But eating them isn't the only joy. There is nothing like the feeling of running your hand through a silky ball of whitebait in the bucket, Worsley reckons.