Fishing year opens with snapper limits cutback

Snapper catch limits for recreational and commercial fishers on the west coast of the North Island have been reduced.

Caretaker Fisheries Minister David Benson-Pope yesterday gazetted new regulations to take effect when the new fishing year begins today.

Attempts to rebuild the depleted snapper fishery had not been as successful as hoped, he said, and the total allowable catch in the North Island's west coast (Snapper Eight) fishery would be reduced from 2060 tonnes to 1785 tonnes.

Mr Benson-Pope also reduced the amateur daily bag limit in the northern part of the management area from 15 to 10 - bringing it into line with the southern part of the management area.

Other decisions included a 10 per cent reduction in the annual total allowable catch of kahawai in all areas.

Mr Benson-Pope said no change would be made to recreational bag limits as there was no evidence that the recreational sector was catching the allowance assigned to it.

Other regulation changes include:

* Allowing kingfish landed as a bycatch by commercial fishers to be returned to the sea, providing the fish are likely to survive.

* Four new areas have been made available for commercial harvesting of beach-cast seaweeds. These include parts of the Bay of Plenty/Coromandel Peninsula, Gisborne region, Banks Peninsula region, and the Marlborough Sounds region.

* A reduction in penalty rates payable by commercial fishers on catches above their annual catch entitlement in some fisheries.

- NZPA