Kingfish release starts July 10th

The staggered release of 20 tonnes of kingfish will start next Monday following approval from Biosecurity and Ministry of Fisheries (MFish) officials.

The Recreational Fishing Council and commercial fishing company, Sanford  had aranged to buy the fish and release them into the wild, provided they were disease-free.

"The crucial approvals from Biosecurity and MFish have been given and it's `kingfish go wild'," Sanford chief executive Eric Barratt said.

"The kingfish fishery is a shared fishery between commercial, recreational and customary. "Everyone can potentially benefit from the release of tens of thousands of fish into the wild" he added.

Council president Keith Ingram said he was pleased to get the green light for the release, which would start on July 10.