KEY POINTS:
Joey Andrews feels at home fishing off New Brighton Pier in Christchurch.
"It's like being out on the back of a boat. I'm out here just about every day. You meet a lot of people out here."
But the popular pastime enjoyed by people such as Mr Andrews
could soon come to an end as pressure grows to clean up the landmark $3 million pier for the thousands of visitors and sightseers who venture out on the major city attraction.
Visitors have complained of irresponsible fishers waving rods dangerously, and fish waste and bait littering the pier that stretches 300m out to sea.
Now the Christchurch City Council is considering several options - including fishing restrictions or a total ban on fishing off the pier.
Mr Andrews said he would be highly disappointed to people robbed of their recreation because of a few who behaved badly.
"It can be a problem, but the ones that do it are just new to the sport, like school kids in the school holidays."
The responsible fishermen were mostly retired people. Visitors often approached them to ask questions about what they were fishing for, or what they had caught, Mr Andrews said.
The council has asked the public to have its say and a variety of opinions are being put forward.
Adam Fort, of Christchurch, wanted to see a total fishing ban on the pier.
"The fishing makes it less safe for young children to walk about freely on the pier due to mess, bait, knives and so on lying around. The vast majority of visitors to New Brighton Pier don't go out to the pier to fish."
Olivia Swansbury went sightseeing at the pier and said it was interesting to see what fishers had caught - but some acted as if they were the only people with a right to be there".
Garry Bombay, of Christchurch, said a fishing ban would be totally against the concept for which people had pulled together and funded.
"It would seem there is a small minority that continually abuse the conditions set when fishing from the pier."
The council will decide early next year on what action to take.