Otago Fish and Game note increase in angling offences

Fish and Game honorary ranger Anthony Marino was patrolling Lake Hawea during Christmas and New Year, carrying out angler licence checks and surveys.

Otago Fish and Game rangers have reported a rise in the number of fishing licence compliance offences committed by anglers on Lakes Wakatipu, Wanaka and Hawea over the Christmas-New Year period, compared with at other times of the year.

Otago Fish and Game ranger Paul van Klink said 200 anglers were spoken to on the water and 50 on shore. "About 18 offences were committed, which is actually quite high''.

He said over the course of the year the offence rate was usually below 5% of anglers encountered but during the Christmas-New Year holiday period it was up to 13%.

"Most of those committing fishing licence offences were New Zealanders, with a few non-residents angling without the right licence.''

He said "we had quite a few offences this summer of people fishing two rods which is classed as a minor offence but some of those had legitimate reasons''.

Offenders were issued with a warning or fines of up to $500.

Mr van Klink said anglers surveyed on fish caught reported salmon numbers were down in all three lakes and trout fishing in Lakes Wakatipu and Wanaka was not as good as Lake Hawea which was "spectacular''.

He said the most popular method of fishing was trawling with a lead line and those with a surface line caught mostly rainbow trout.

Fishing charter boat companies reported having "really high success rates'' compared to people fishing on their summer holidays, he said.
kerrie.waterworth@odt.co.nz