Submission by Te Rūnanga Whakauka O Kahurangi Ki Kaikōura / Nelson Marlborough Conservation Board – Consultation on Changes to Whitebait Management
Emailed to: [email protected] Submission by Te Rūnanga Whakauka o Kahurangi ki Kaikōura / Nelson Marlborough Conservation Board – consultation on changes to whitebait management
Contact information: Name: Gina Solomon Organisation: Nelson Marlborough Conservation Board Address: C/o Department of Conservation, Private Bag 5, Nelson 7042 Phone: 03 546 9335 Email: [email protected]
The Nelson Marlborough Conservation Board appreciates the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed changes to white bait management.
The Nelson Marlborough Conservation Board is an independent body established by under the Conservation Act 1987 to represent the public interest in the work of the Department of Conservation and conservation in general. Its area of jurisdiction extends from Kahurangi Point on the West Coast of the South Island to the Conway River on the East Coast.
Under the Conservation Act, Section 6N the Conservation Board has the power to “advocate its interests at any public forum or in any statutory planning process.” The Board sees marine biodiversity protection to be a conservation matter of national importance and has identified it as one of the Board’s strategic priorities.
General feedback
The Board supports the submission of the New Zealand Conservation Authority (NZCA) in its entirety on the proposed changes to whitebait management. In general, the Board supports the proposed changes as an interim measure, but the overall management and protection measures for these species need a complete overhaul, particularly taking into account the Treaty of Waitangi.
Specific feedback
Please refer to the attached comments for specific feedback on whitebait management.
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The Nelson Marlborough Conservation Board appreciates this opportunity to comment through this consultation process and looks forward to seeing protection for our taonga species and the freshwater biodiversity of Aotearoa New Zealand ensured for the future.
Gina Solomon Chairperson Nelson Marlborough Conservation Board Te Rūnanga Whakauka o Kahurangi ki Kaikōura
27 January 2020
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Attachment 1. Specific feedback on whitebait regulations
Te Whakapai ake i te whakahaere Īnanga Improving whitebait management 1966: 12,000 cars and 50,000 people visited Ripiro beach which is part of 90- mile beach in Northland and harvested 1 million Toheroa in 1 weekend. The Toheroa collapsed. Commercial canning from 1928 was banned in 1969. 20 tons of Toheroa were canned per year and a record 77 tons in 1940 commercially produced. Regional closures were staggered and the last legal recreational catch occurred in 1979. Customary catch by Maori but not exclusively by permit is now only available and poaching is widespread. 45 years since the ban has been place the Toheroa has not come back – illegal
This Photo This harvesting of Toheroa is widespread and frequent and has been the major cause of non-recovery of the Toheroa.
Tasmanian Whitebait Regulation Aspects: Whitebait season licence required $30.50 anyone over 10 years can be brought online or selected shops and Government agencies. 42 day catch season – Limit of 2kgs per day – total season catch 10 kgs. Anyone under 10 years is not allowed to fish for whitebait – consider this with the number of drownings which have occurred during the whitebait season in NZ. Tasmania’s Whitebait fishing collapsed and they had to close it for 15 years and when they opened again, they were unwilling to allow Commercial fishing. (Quote: Forest and Bird NZ 27/02/2020)
Some countries are don’t require licenses but insist that rules and regulations are met: Belgium: Recreational fishing with license allowed – Freshwater permit required when fishing on certain seadocks. Cyprus: Sea angling and spear fishing without diving equipment is allowed with no licence – As in NZ.
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Estonia: Estonians have a life-long right to fish with one simple hand line in waters owned by the state and local governments, provided that regulations about species, sizes and seasons are followed.
Norway: Sea fishing from the coast and from the boat is free for both residents and visitors, although there are minimum fish rules and other regulations. United Kingdom: Rod licence required for anyone over the age of 12 years who fishes in England, Wales or Border Esk area in Scotland for Salmon, Trout, freshwater fish, smelt or eels. United States: Oregon instituted requirement for commercial fishing licenses in 1899, the same year the state’s Sturgeon fishery collapsed. Indiana began issuing hunting licenses.
On viewing the evidence: Qualify recognition: That as with the “taonga” Toheroa this will never ever happen again. Qualify recognition Te Tiriti o Waitangi Articles especially in relation to Article 2 ……...”te tino rangatiratanga o o ratou wenua o ratou kainga me o ratou taonga katoa” …………. …”in the unqualified exercise of their chieftainship over their lands, villages and all their treasures” … Qualify recognition Maori subject matter expert workshop held in Wellington 31/7/2018 facilitated by Johanna Pierre Qualify recognition to Support Southland Whitebaiters call for decommercialisation (Quote: Southland Times 30/01/2020) Qualify recognition of the Forest and Bird Submission 27/02/2020 and all other submissions Qualify recognition of Public Management Options Qualify recognition of the DOC Research, data collection, consultations and Discussion document evidence: that a whole of Iwi/Maori, Public, Government agencies, local authorities, be engaged and that a change of the legislation after 25 years is now well overdue but like the Toheroa only because the “whitebait” are in decline or non – existent in many waterways where they once thrived.
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