Commercial fish harvesting methods such as bottom trawling and purse seining will be banned to a depth of 100 metres around Cape Brett. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Commercial fish harvesting methods such as bottom trawling and purse seining will be banned to a depth of 100 metres around Cape Brett. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Northland Regional Council has voyaged into the uncharted waters of regulating fishing locations after formally adopting new no-take fishing areas in the Bay of Islands.
The rule change is off the back of a ground-breaking Environment Court decision that established the two new areas and banned the most damaging forms of commercial fishing from the seas around Cape Brett.
The court ruling barred all fishing, including recreational fishing, from Maunganui Bay (Deep Water Cove) to Oke Bay, near Rāwhiti, as well as the waters around Mimiwhangata, 50 kilometres north of Whangārei.
Two commercial fishing methods — bottom trawling and purse seining — were also prohibited around Rakaumangamanga (Cape Brett) to a depth of about 100 metres. The area starts just north of Maunganui Bay, extends around the Cape and ends just north of Elliott Bay.
Exceptions to the no-take rules include kina harvesting and activities linked to research, restoration and tikanga - such as customary fishing.
The council expected its formal adoption of the new no-take fishing areas would provide much-needed protection to areas of importance on Northland’s coast.
Local hapū Te Uri O Hikihiki and Ngāti Kuta ki Te Rāwhiti had previously voiced concerns that overfishing had made the mauri [life force] of the moana [ocean] disappear. They both advocated for the fishing pressure to be relieved to allow the area to return to its former glory.
Council chairwoman Tui Shortland said they were working in partnership with iwi, hapū and communities with regard to deciding how the new rules will be implemented.
The council acknowledged the rule changes would have a significant implication for it, given the regulation of recreational or commercial fishing locations is not a function it has previously undertaken.
Shortland said the council’s initial focus would be education and advocacy around the reasons why the no-take areas have been set up. Additionally, the council would ensure the rules are understood, communicated and respected.
The court ruling creates no-take areas from Deep Water Cove to Oke Bay in the Bay of Islands and around Mimiwhangata Peninsula, as well as a ban on bottom trawling and purse seining around Cape Brett. Image / NRC
Rule-breakers could fine fines of up to $300,000 for an individual or $600,000 for an organisation, or imprisonment of up to two years.
The Environment Court’s decision is considered ground-breaking because it is the first time anyone has successfully used the Resource Management Act to ban specific commercial fishing practices.
The court case dates back to 2017, when Northland Regional Council released a regional plan which didn’t include any fishing controls.
The plan was appealed by conservation groups Fish Forever and Forest & Bird, with support from local hapū.
They presented evidence to the court showing a fishing-related decline in ecological values, including widespread loss of kelp forest and kina barren expansion caused by reduced populations, and sizes, of snapper and crayfish.
While legal action was taken against the regional council, it became convinced by the evidence and so supported the fishing restrictions.
The Environment Court process meant public consultation on the no-take rules was not possible, but the council supported the court’s decision due to the evidence and because it reflected the concerns of the local hapū, Ngāti Kuta ki Te Rāwhiti and Te Uri O Hikihiki.
