Yellowfin in close

Yellowfin tuna, albeit the smaller models, have been in reach of both beach and boat-based anglers over the last few weeks.

Every day I am hearing of ‘unusual’ captures both from out and around the Hen and Chicken group of islands, Sail Rock and back inshore to a mere 200 metres off Mangawhai’s sand dunes and the cut, and south down to Te Arai and Pakiri. Over the last decade yellowfin have been noticeable by their absence from NZ waters, but this year we have been inundated with them. Long may it continue.

It is quite hard case to see small trailerboats and larger dinghies at the ramp sporting game gear as opposed to snapper tackle as many anglers attempt to cash in on this tasty bonanza. It would not surprise me to hear of a drone or kontiki fisher catching one off the beach. Boat anglers have been getting them on everything from cut bait on ledger rigs through to trolled deep diving minnows and even stickbaits and poppers – the latter two run when skirted lures have not been doing the business. 

There is a heap of bait – anchovies, pilchards, and jack mackerel – to be found in close and this is what is attracting the tuna. Last Sunday I headed south off Te Arai where we encountered widespread bird activity with kahawai busting up around us. While we put a good feed of ‘honest pannies’ – 35-45cm – on ice, the tuna eluded us.

Yellowfin tuna have great eating qualities – be it raw as sashimi or ika mata, or steaked and lightly seared – but like any fish the eating quality depends on how they are treated once on board. I like to bleed them out then gut and gill them, stuffing the cavity with ice and then put in an insulated body bag surrounded by as much ice as possible to bring the temperature of the flesh down as quickly as possible.

Talking to other skippers there is still good workup action wide of the Hen and the Chicks with good snapper beneath them at times. The mantra ‘find the birds and you will find the fish’ has not always worked for me this summer, especially on decent-sized snapper. It has either been a feast or a famine with many smaller sub-35cm fish being scattered throughout the bay in big numbers.

Checking out the Bream Bay Fishing Facebook page the Whangarei harbour is still fishing well in all the usual haunts. Even modest snapper give a great account of themselves in the harbour’s shallow waters. While bait and berley continues to be the modus operandi of many, there have been some nice fish taken on lures posted. It seems the run from Smugglers Cove up to Bream Head and beyond off Ocean Beach has been producing. It is that time of the year when the tarakihi are in closer and this has been borne out by one crew fishing the pins off the end of Bream Head with smaller hooked flasher rigs baited with lightly steamed pipis and tuatua. They went home more than happy with some good-sized ‘turkeys’ for their efforts.

Boats protesting the proposal to sand mine nine million cubic metres of marine sand in the middle of Bream Bay.

While the fishing has been patchy, of bigger concern is the proposal to sand mine a considerable area in 20 metres of water in the middle of Bream Bay. The Government is hell-bent on fast-tracking resource consents for various projects, one of which is allowing McCallum Brothers to open Bream Bay for sand mining.

The scary thing about this the minister in control is Shane Jones, the self-appointed commercial fishing ‘apostle’ and minister in charge of the oceans. Part of this fast-tracking is that there is no public consultation. The Minister will appoint a group to consider McCallum Brothers' application, and I can’t see recreational fishing or environmental interests being represented around that table. McCallum Brothers will submit their application with supporting documents once completed. Where is the transparency in that?

Community newspaper Mangawhai Focus quoted Bream Bay Guardians spokesperson Bruce Copeland says the “incomplete nature of the company’s economic assessment makes it impossible to properly gauge the true costs and benefits of the proposal.”

He went on to say that even if there were benefits, it was unclear who would see them.

“There is little indication that Northlanders, or even Aucklanders, would gain in any meaningful way. Instead, it appears the main beneficiary could be a single company.”

The normal keepers of the gate – Regional Councils, the Department of Conservation, and independents such as LegaSea, Bream Bay Guardians and No Sandmining in Bream Bay – are hardly likely to be extended the welcome mat. Questions have been raised regarding the apparently numerous assessments (15) commissioned by the applicants – are we going to see cherry-picked excerpts or the reports in full, warts and all? 

An expert economist and founder of Axiom Economics, Bream Bay resident Hayden Green, has been quoted as saying McCallum Brothers’ assessments are “opaque, non-replicable and riddled with errors and omissions.”

Snapper, scallops, hermit crabs and tubeworms under the protest boats. Photo: Shaun Lee.

There has already been a beach rally at Ruakaka attended by 1,500 people who spelt out the no mining message. This was followed last Sunday with an on-water protest with 50 or so boats spread along the proposed mining area. Vessels came from as far away as Thames and Tutukaka to add their voice to the demonstration.

Organiser Daniel Hunt says the public are still not well informed as to the extent of the mining and its implications for the environment.

“We want the Minister to listen to the people. There is no need to destroy this marine habitat when there a seven land quarries in Auckland alone capable of meeting the demand,” Daniel says. 

“You have to question the integrity of the decision-making. 

“One scientist has worked out that over the proposed consent period the equivalent of two Mt Manias will have been taken out of the bay.” 

Under the proposal, the company would strip nine million cubic metres of marine sand from Bream Bay over 35 years. 

During the protest, Shaun Lee dropped an underwater camera down to film the bottom. What he found included sponges, red algae, biogenic mounds, scallops, hermit crabs, tubeworms, and some cheeky snapper.

“It is not just a flat area of sand devoid of life, it is an important part of the ecosystem.”

- Grant Dixon