KEY POINTS:
The scallop season for the west coast is to be brought into line with the east coast.
The east coast season was shifted to allow the shellfish to further develop, but that left compliance officers with enforcement problems, given the two different seasons.
The current open season for west coast scallops opened on July 15 and ends on February 14. The east coast season opened on September 1 and ends on March 31. Both will open on September 1 and close on March 31 from 2008, a sensible decision.
It was the west coast scallops that were more in need of the change, given their slower development in winter.
Proposals aimed at ensuring a sustainable tuna fishery, being pushed by Pacific nations including New Zealand, are being blocked by countries outside the region.
The fourth annual meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee in Guam this week discussed measures aimed at limiting the catch of juvenile tuna in purse seine nets and of adults on long-lines, with targets of reducing the bigeye tuna catch by 25 per cent and that of yellowfin by 10 per cent.
The $3 billion Pacific tuna fishery provides many island nations with their greatest source of income, and there are fears over-fishing will cause major economic hardship. Non-Pacific nations blocked the conservation measures and called for more research on fish stocks.
"It's simply disingenuous of the non-Pacific fishing nations to say there is not enough information on which to base conservation measures," said committee chairman and New Zealand Minister of Fisheries Jim Anderton.
The committee rejected tuna-fishing applications from El Salvador, Equador and Senegal but accepted one from Belize, with restrictions. The majority of the tuna fleet in the Pacific is Spanish-owned, regardless of flag.
The movement of Pacific and southern bluefin tuna in New Zealand waters is now being monitored by satellite tag, with 10 fish tagged and data just starting to come back. Early tracking suggests the bluefin that congregate off the South Island's west coast to feed on the annual hoki run in August/September then move around the top of the North Island and down to East Cape, where the bulk of New Zealand's long-line tuna fleet operates.
Recreational fishers landed around 15 tonnes of Pacific and southern bluefin tuna in the two-month South Island season just finished - and that was just 76 fish, with another 99 fish tagged and released.
That's according to figures supplied to Graeme McGregor of the Ministry of Fisheries, who had good co-operation from some charter skippers in reporting catches and hopes that is an attitude that will spread. The aim is to gather more information about the fish, not to impose more limits, as the recreational catch in New Zealand is regarded as minimal in Pacific terms.
All up, there were 42 Pacific bluefin landed with a combined weight of 10,775kg, or an average 256kg per fish. Another 79 with an estimated weight of 20,475kg (259kg per fish) were tagged and released. The size of the average southern bluefin landed was 108kg, or 36 fish at a total weight of 3691kg.
Twenty more with an estimated combined weight of 2171kg were tagged and released.
Talks continue to establish a joint fisheries-stakeholder working group with Maori representation from Te Ohu Kaimoana, commercial interests' representation by the Seafood Industry Council and amateur fishers by the New Zealand Recreational Fishing Council. The group would aim to develop policy proposals to improve management of fisheries where customary, amateur and commercial fishers all have an interest.
It's not easy to find solutions, especially given the increasing Maori commercial interest, the conflict with customary rights and the public's desire and ability to put fish on the dinner table.
The Minister of Fisheries has delayed his report to the Cabinet on shared fisheries until July 2008 and has given the working group until April to present its recommendations. In the meantime, efforts are being made to improve knowledge on the size of the recreational catch.
The NZRFC and the Big Game Fish Council with option4 are back in court in February to face the appeal by industry against the decision over setting of kahawai quota. NZRFC chairman Keith Ingram said they were confident of winning the appeal and defeating any further court action to enforce Justice Harrison's decision that the Fisheries Minister has to allow for the public catch before setting the total allowable commercial catch. At the same time, they had to sit down with industry to seek better overall fisheries management. "There comes a time when common sense must prevail," Ingram said.
The fishing has been hot when conditions have allowed wider excursions. Unfortunately, the strong easterlies have kept boaties in close on both coasts, tucked behind the islands on the east and inshore on the west coast cliffs. Snapper catches are good all round, with all methods working but soft plastics or flashers baited with cubes of pilchard best.
There are still few kahawai about. If snapper fishing is slow, use sabikis to hook mackerel that are thick in the Hauraki Gulf then drop them to the bottom as livebaits for john dory, which seem to be prolific.
Next week: Tips for holiday fishing.
More on fishing and boating, Weekend Marine back of section C
