KEY POINTS:
There is a growing understanding and alliance between the various amateur angler groups and Maori as legal battles for a fair share of the country's fisheries continues.
The 2008 annual general meeting of the NZ Big Game Fishing Council was marked by co-operation between northern Maori - with Ngapuhi chairman Sonny Tau one of the speakers - the charter boat industry and recreational fishing groups.
"The recreational sector is working better together and with Maori seeking customary rights with a common aim of achieving better management of the inshore fishery and a rebuilding of depleted stocks," said council chairman Richard Baker, who was re-elected.
The meeting at the Hawkes Bay Sportfishing Club in Napier also heard from local commercial fisherman Richard Burch who is trialling various methods of reducing bycatch and catch of undersized juveniles while also reducing contact with the seabed by as much as 95 per cent - and cutting fuel costs by as much as 30 per cent.
Given the latter, you'd think the New Zealand fishing industry might show some interest but thus far his project is only supported by the charitable trust Guardians of the Sea.
Burch is experimenting with different shaped mesh and nets as well as tow speeds and has proved that catch can be much more target-specific, eliminating waste and decreasing fishing time and so cutting diesel, wage and other costs. These methods are also being trialled overseas, notably in Norway.
Meanwhile, industry has gone to court to get an injunction to allow it to continue fishing as it has in the North Island west coast and South Island areas where recreational fishers are now subject to expanded set net bans to protect the Hector's and Maui's dolphins. It will be status quo, which is what the industry always plumps for, until at least December 24 when the injunction expires. But courts don't reopen until February and by the time the hearing is done they will no doubt have had a couple more years of status quo.
The injunction remains in force subject to no Maui's dolphins being caught. Can you imagine a commercial skipper reporting he'd caught one?
MFish says it will put more observers on boats in future.
So the commercial season opened with kahawai and other quota allowances unaltered after the Minister of Fisheries rushed through an amendment to section 13 of the Fisheries Act to allow that to happen. The replies to Official Information Act requests by the group option4 show that the commercial sector had input into the wording of the amendment.
The bluefin season off the west coast is just about over, with catch rate tailing off significantly after what was a boomer start, presumably because of the big southerly blow right in the middle of it. Blue Water Marine Research in conjunction with Auckland University secured 23 satellite tags in adult Pacific bluefin which will collect data for anything from eight to 12 months.
Scientist John Holdsworth said they hoped to determine the migratory path of the big pelagics. It appears they spend more time in or near the New Zealand economic zone than previously thought so this country may have a greater part to play in the management and sustainability of stocks of the endangered big tuna.
Fishing remains between seasons, with snapper catches good in the Far North but few fish above 3kg. The big ones are yet to move up the west coast to Port Waikato and Muriwai in numbers too. Best methods remain straylining close to rocks and weed, best times late afternoon-evening.
Kahawai are abundant off the west coast, chasing whitebait. They have been caught at up to 3kg inside the Manukau Harbour, said John Moran. Snapper have moved in too but getting through the kahawai is a problem, particularly if you use berley.
The whitebait catch has been slow, with prices up to $140/kg for the good, clear fish reflecting this. The West Coast South Island season opens soon and prices will fall.
I did have some fishing joy this week while off the water. In Sydney covering the Warriors run until last weekend and now the grandfinal, I met the president of the local Parkway Pirates Fishing Club which is housed just up Warringah Rd from the Manly Sea Eagles. Their club pin board records best kingfish at 7.2kg, best snapper at 3.1kg, best morwong (trevally) at 1.2kg and sea trout (kahawai) at 0.98kg.
I had the great pleasure of telling him: "I don't want to skite but at home we'd let them all go."
"I know," he said forlornly, "I've been there and I want to go back."
