There are ongoing issues related to the management of our crayfish stocks that need to be addressed this year. Crayfish are a prized shellfish, a taonga, and we need to be sure that the public’s long-term interests are protected and we have reasonable access to our crayfish. In our recent submission responding to the latest…
Fish dumping and unnecessary wastage in our fisheries has to stop, and many of you have the handiest tool to address it – your cellphone camera. Several trawlermen have revealed that dumping happens on every trawl. One skipper estimates 10-15 bins of undersized fish were thrown back dead after every trawl. The crew is required…
Over 4.5 million snapper, 1.1 million kahawai and 680,000 blue cod were caught and kept by recreational fishers during 2011-12. These are the three most popular marine species, by number, in New Zealand. Around 5.4 % of all finfish was taken from charter vessels. These estimates and harvest figures for other popular species have been…
It seems that yellowfin tuna are not gone forever from New Zealand waters. Dare we hope that this season is just the start of their return, or is this just a painful reminder of the superb fishery that has been lost? The Bay of Plenty was once our yellowfin ‘tuna capital’ over summer. For most…
Crayfish might not be on everyone’s catch list but they are a treasured meal when shared with family and friends. Not surprisingly they are also a valuable commercial species so when it comes to management there is always high interest in any catch increases. Management of five crayfish stocks is under review. These stocks extend…
