Anglers hot, fishing not

Bream Bay anglers are hot under the collar with the recent fisheries’ sustainability round outcomes that have added over 500 tonnes of snapper quota to the species’ two biggest management areas – SNA 1 North Cape-East Cape, and SNA 8 NI west coast.

In the last two months commercial operators have hammered Bream Bay – trawlers, longliners and the ‘pilchard’ boats - much to the detriment of the recreational fishing.

There has been a fair amount of venom directed towards these boats with some of the hotheads among our fishing community suggesting we should cut the longline buoys, drop old cars on the bottom to foul trawls, etc. While I appreciate the sentiment, touching the commercial gear or disrupting their operations by flaunting your obligations under maritime law is not the way to go. They are not doing anything illegal, and it is the decision makers, the Shane Jones’ of this world, who need a sharp dose of reality.

The Hauraki Gulf ‘plan’ sees 18 highly protected areas set aside as no-take zones (no fishing of any kind in many of the most popular, and accessible, recreational fishing areas). These stretch as far south as the Alderman Islands off Tairua right throughout the Gulf and north to the Mokohinaus. The Minister’s latest edict is ‘some commercial and traditional’ will be allowed in these zones, but no recreational fishing.

We can expect a surge in commercial fishing on our backdoor in the future. The NZSFC’s public outreach arm, LegaSea,  is deeply concerned that Shane Jones as Minister of Oceans and Fisheries (shouldn’t that be ‘Commercial’ Fisheries?) has demonstrated little respect for sustainability, with 12 species nationwide suffering a TACC (Total Allowable Commercial Catch) increase.

LegaSea’s Project Lead Sam Woolford says these increases to the TACC are a green light for intensified trawling.

“Our marine ecosystems are already teetering under the strain of warming waters, overfishing, and pollution from land-based run-off.”

The Minister, a former chairman of Sealord, has indicated he intends ramping up New Zealand’s exports, proudly calling himself an ‘apostle’ for the fishing industry.

What happened to the 2022 court decision that decreed the Minister needed to take account of the effects of fishing for one species and how it impacts on others, LegaSea is asking.

Woolford says the Minister’s decisions are ‘laser-focussed’ on commercial gains (and for whom?) with little regard for the long-term health of our oceans. For more in-depth discussion on the above, check out www.legasea.co.nz

Now, back on track with the fishing report – our landbased anglers have been producing some great fishing with the boat-based anglers not doing quite as well.

One of the best landbased captures of recent times was a 24.4lb snapper caught off the rocks by Hoang Ha Vu. He posted the fish on the popular Bream Bay Fishing Facebook page, and it included footage of him trying to revive and release the fish with no success. Hoang is the complete angler, first catching his own bait; squid is his favourite which then becomes snapper fodder. Check out his posts, there is a lot to be learned.

Hoang Ha Vu with his (11.39kg (25.4lb) snapper caught off the rocks in Bream Bay last week.

Kadin Williams of the Reel Clinic put his tackle servicing to one side, enjoying a great session off the beach at Waipu Cove earlier this week, landing seven nice fish in a two-hour stint. It made up for the previous six days when he fished from the Waipu rivermouth to Ruakaka for a donut – zip! Kadin says he has had a heap of work coming in and reminds people not to leave it too long to get their reels serviced for the summer season. The last week before Christmas will be too late!

Looking at the Bream Bay Fishing posts, the surfcasters trying their luck in the refinery/Mair Bank area have been doing well, with some nice snapper and trevally coming out of the area. Anglers using the artificial baits Fishbites says these work well on the trevally, but the jury is still out on the snapper.

The Whangarei harbour is fishing well, with reports of nice snapper coming from as far west as Limestone Island and Manganese Point. The snapper haven’t been huge – the mid-forties being around the best – but they have been there in good numbers. The Takahiwai flats and its channel edges is another area worth checking out. Bait and berley on a rising tide at the change of light is doing the business.

Further towards the entrance, several stonker kingfish have been caught out of Urquharts Bay (around the gun emplacement) and McLeods Bay.

Snap Fishing Ventures skipper and guide Nik Key has been kept at home with the weather these last couple of weeks but tried his luck in the vicinity of the #7 buoy and gun emplacement, fishing his favourite sliders in 20 metres or so. Nik says the drift was quite fast but there was any amount of fat 40-45cm snapper willing to join him for dinner.

Out wide at the Mokohinaus, Wayne Radford aboard his charter boat RnR says the snapper are there in good numbers and while he hasn’t caught any trophy fish, the numbers are good.

Tight lines!

October 2024 - Grant Dixon

New Zealand Fishing News Magazine.

Copyright: NZ Fishing Media Ltd.