KEY POINTS:
Kahawai catch limits for industry and recreational anglers will remain unchanged for the 2007-08 fishing year that starts on October 1.
Minister of Fisheries Jim Anderton has predictably opted for the status quo in setting quota limits while court action by amateur fishing groups continues.
His reasoning is that change now to comply with a High Court decision in favour of recreational interests might be pointless because the industry's appeal is to be heard in February.
"With the kahawai case still subject to appeal, preparing advice for the minister to reconsider the decision in a climate of uncertainty would be a difficult process," said Ministry of Fisheries acting chief Stan Crothers.
Industry catch allowances remain 1075 tonnes in the Northland/Auckland area KAH1 with recreational catch 1680 tonnes and Maori take 495 tonnes. In the KAH2 area (Bay of Plenty and East Cape) the industry allowance is 705 tonnes, recreational 610 and Maori 185. In KAH8 off the North Island west coast, commercial allowance is 520 tonnes, recreational 385 and Maori 115 tonnes.
The argument from amateur anglers is that the commercial take nets about $2 million and is so insignificant in the overall fishery that it would be best left in the water for locals and to provide tourist income.
The industry says the mackerel boats that take the bulk of the kahawai catch would be uneconomical without the 20 per cent of their income that comes from kahawai.
The Big Game Fishing Council and Option4 are asking for further financial backing from recreational fishers as they prepare their case to fight the industry appeal in February. Go online at option4.co.nz for details.
A ban on taking blue cod in Milford and Doubtful Sounds has been extended to 2009.
In a good example of co-operative management, the Fiordland Marine Guardians, a community group including commercial and recreational fishers, Maori, marine scientists and environmentalists, recommended to Anderton that a ban imposed in 2005 be extended to allow the stocks to recover further.
Fishing remains patchy. In the Bay of Islands, rockfishers have been taking snapper in dirty water around the Russell Peninsula, Roberton and other islands, with the bite better in areas taking some swell.
"The water's dirty but there are fish in close feeding," said Geoff Stone from Major Tom II charters.
Around Auckland, those with the skills are doing best, according to Eugyn de Bruyn from Sea Genie. The fish are tentative on the bite at times but he has had some excellent catches, with limit bags taken at The Noises.
"You need lots of berley to get them going," he said, and he also uses mashed pellets soaked with fish oil as a ground bait.
"They are there but one trip you'll do well and the next might be hopeless."
The scallop season has opened on the west coast and as usual people are out needlessly bashing and smashing the shellfish well before they form up to anything like edible.
The meat is like transparent snot, the roe a pale pink rather than healthy bright orange. They cannot even be cleaned properly from the shell.
The scallop season should be brought into line with the newdates on the east coast, both to protect the fishery and so the rules are universal and clear to enforce.
There is some brilliant gurnard fishing on the Manukau, says John Moran. But go deeper after the rain, he advises.
"The fish were on the banks but they are looking for more salinity after the constant rains we've had."
Again, the better anglers are doing better.
The fish are often sucking on baits rather than attacking them. Moran uses a long-shank hook with the small barbs on the rear of the shank and pushes his baits right up the shank on to those barbs.
Some trevally are being taken near the watercourses that empty into the Manukau, feeding on worms, so earthworms are a good attractant, tied on with bait elastic.
Several Manukau anglers have reported tangles with seven-gilled sharks. These are docile until they see the boat, and can then go ballistic. Cut the line quickly as a 2m angry shark is no fun.
An albacore caught between Whale and White Islands on Monday maybe a New Zealand record.
At 25.8kg, the fish caught from charter boat Ma Cherie is 400g heavier than one taken on Whakatane boat Pursuit in the late 1980s. It was caught on 37kg braid which is yet to be weight-tested. Several larger ones have been caught but disqualified for a variety of reasons - line weight, the anglers not registered club members, someone else handling the rod.
Commercial tuna longliners are having a good season off East Cape, with one northern blue hooked this week and destined for Japan selling for $39,000. Catches have been good.
Some boats have observers on board to supervise a tagging research programme where some fish are being measured, weighed and released, the researchers paying market value. The anglers have reportedly been happy to take around $3500 for fish they do not have to land.
Trout fishing around Lake Taupo has improved with water quality. There are good numbers of fish in all the rivers after the concentrated wet spell.
