2016/17 Temp Closure of Scallops Southern Fishery
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Category: General Forums
Forum Name: Fisheries Management
Forum Description: Anything to do with fisheries management here please
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=117882
Printed Date: 28 Jan 2026 at 3:48pm
Topic: 2016/17 Temp Closure of Scallops Southern Fishery
Posted By: Gatekeeper
Subject: 2016/17 Temp Closure of Scallops Southern Fishery
Date Posted: 09 Jun 2016 at 7:04pm
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Looks like the Top of the South Scallops are going to be out of bounds for at least this year from the email i got before!!! http://gallery.mailchimp.com/5865438dbf58d52c251962cdf/files/Scallop_7_Consultation_Stakeholder_letter_signed.pdf" rel="nofollow - http://gallery.mailchimp.com/5865438dbf58d52c251962cdf/files/Scallop_7_Consultation_Stakeholder_letter_signed.pdf So whats every ones views on it? I know i wasn't too happy when the commercial scallop fleet was allowed into Tasman Bay this year and screwed over one of the last beds in the bay which had very limited numbers of scallops in it, no where near commercial quantities they said it had but had to say it was loaded to get in there. In fact they where out of there in 1.5 days after they couldn't catch enough scallops. So whats your view people? ------------- There is never a better time to go fishing than now, live the day |
Replies:
Posted By: mowerman
Date Posted: 09 Jun 2016 at 7:17pm
 History repeats ..we all know what the problem is ..Some are are saying it all happened in the past ..bullswool ..take all ..It happened in the H/G as well ..Strip it, destroy the sea floor ,it aint coming back in a hurry
MPI ......You allow this to happen under your world best practice methods of sustainability Quota Management for JK and his rich mates .. They screwed over the Mother bed in the H/G as well.
------------- The People Protest Actions Speak Louder Than Words |
Posted By: Capt Asparagus
Date Posted: 09 Jun 2016 at 7:47pm
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If the fishery has been that badly hammered there, it is good they are shutting it down. It wasn't that long ago it was held as a poster boy of sustainable harvesting, especially with the commercials paying for a reseeding program etc. What happened? Yes, I am happy to concede the answer is most likely over harvesting by the commercials, but have there been any other factors in the diminishment of the resource, like disease of the beds or anything? As for the huge beds in the outer gulf, well, that is a whole other story... But really, John Key is personally responsible for commercial over fishing of scallop beds in the Marlborough sounds? He hops on the phone to his rich prick mate on the dredge boat and tells them to head down and rape and pillage while he keeps the fisheries folks distracted?? Sighh.....Sometimes things can happen in NZ without the PM actually being personally involved you know. Ki kara. ------------- It is only my overwhelming natural humility that mars my perfection. Captain Asparagus, Superhero, Adventurer. |
Posted By: mowerman
Date Posted: 09 Jun 2016 at 8:07pm
This is what happened to the H/G scallops ..yes its been copied as pasted ..
------------- The People Protest Actions Speak Louder Than Words |
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Posted By: Capt Asparagus
Date Posted: 09 Jun 2016 at 8:26pm
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Yes, that is well known, they ramped up the TACC...., the annoying part is that a lot of the extra harvest was taken not from the open water HG beds as intended, but from the beds closer to base at whitianga, which is pretty rude really. Has the TACC been reduced again yet though? I seem to remember seeing something about it having been dropped once more....I think it has been but could well be wrong. Increasing the tacc to allow harvesting of that huge new bed was always both rational from a harvesting point of view....scallops don't live that long, the argument was if they weren't harvested they'd just die anyhow, but equally justifiable and smarter to my point of view is that this must have been a massive reseeding resource that quite likely has been quietly keeping the existing known beds going all these years, and as such should have been left alone. It will be interesting to see what , if any, long term effects the extra harvest has had. ------------- It is only my overwhelming natural humility that mars my perfection. Captain Asparagus, Superhero, Adventurer. |
Posted By: Gatekeeper
Date Posted: 09 Jun 2016 at 8:29pm
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The writing has been on the wall for over 10 years and regardless of what happened to the scallops (beds dying, run off from farms, silt from de-forestation, over fishing etc) its very plain to see not reducing the TACC until the fishery is rooted like now has been the main cause of this mis-managed fishery falling over. You only have to look at their own data - look at the TACC and look at the harvest figures. No fishery is going to sustain nearly 800 tons getting ripped out of it year after year. Even when the catch figures were down to double digits (which is a long way from 800 tons) the TACC was not lowered. The commercial sector in this case have not caught their allocated TAC for years which only means its been set to high (mis-managed) Why has it taken 13 years to get a reduction in the TACC?  ------------- There is never a better time to go fishing than now, live the day |
Posted By: Gatekeeper
Date Posted: 09 Jun 2016 at 8:39pm
I guess it not un-expected as it collapsed in 1980 and the pattern was similar to now apart from they know seeding isnt working now. ------------- There is never a better time to go fishing than now, live the day |
Posted By: mowerman
Date Posted: 09 Jun 2016 at 8:39pm
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What appears to be a problem is the damage to the sea floor ,allowing silting to occur because the sea floor has been destroyed by constant dredging ( all sea life balance destroyed ) sea weeds, sands ,crabs everything gone Just looks like a marine desert . I have seen the same thing when diving.The beds are hammered then collapse with just shells and starfish . This then gets covered in fine silt ,Kawau, Whangaroa , BOI.Reseeding will not work if the sea floor is inhospitable as it will kill the small spat It wont work as they have destroyed the eco system ..Blame it on deforestation or climate change they will ...but 1973 sowed the problem now at hand ,plus continued pressure to fish when recovery was underway .. Continue to harvest a rate faster than replacement = extinction ------------- The People Protest Actions Speak Louder Than Words |
Posted By: edge01
Date Posted: 09 Jun 2016 at 8:40pm
I remember seeing about six scallop boats coming into the te kouma boat ramp on a daily basis with hundreds of bins of scallops from the h.g bed. I even went past one day and saw them all steaming north with their dredges down. I said then that the scallop fishery in h.g would be stuffed within three years due to over fishing. you can still get a feed but its not as easy as it used to be. My dad told me once that he used to dive behind waimate and get his limit without ever leaving sight of the anchor!! you wouldn't do that now
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Capt Asparagus wrote:Posted By: Capt Asparagus
Date Posted: 09 Jun 2016 at 9:08pm
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I think those figures are very telling Gatekeeper....it would also be very interesting to know the CPUE (Catch per Unit Effort) on the harvest they have got. The damage scallop dredging does, same as bottom trawling, same as scampi/prawn/shrimp dredging is a crime I think. The dredging of the entire HG in the early 20th C, wiping out the almost solid mussel beds and turning it to a sand and mud desert is one of the worst ecological disasters in our country, and is almost totally unsung. Too late to do anything about that now though, that was 50-100 years ago. Thing is..... the sale of the product, scallops, is almost a bottomless market, perhaps reducing the demand a little may help ease the pressure on the beds. ------------- It is only my overwhelming natural humility that mars my perfection. Captain Asparagus, Superhero, Adventurer. |
Posted By: mowerman
Date Posted: 10 Jun 2016 at 6:53am
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Scallop industry Will collapse on its on accord as they have been allowed to plough up and ruin the seafloor . Dredging is the most destructive methods used as it is non selective . They just keep going to nothing is left.By that time the eco system has been destroyed and will not support any type of marine life ------------- The People Protest Actions Speak Louder Than Words |
Posted By: Southern_Jez
Date Posted: 10 Jun 2016 at 7:02am
| make scallop harvesting dive only like paua (but with scuba tanks), create a few jobs, increase the value of the product to cover increased harvesting costs ... to simple? |
Posted By: Derek F
Date Posted: 10 Jun 2016 at 7:20am
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MPI is a disgrace....and has been whether under National or Labour ------------- And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more...Erica Jong |
Posted By: mowerman
Date Posted: 10 Jun 2016 at 7:43am
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Yes ..agree.diving would protect and restrict the amount taken.Slower but the eco system stays healthy They cannot keep continue what they do .Put themselves out of a job is what is happening. . As for Mpi..worse than a disgrace. BOTH..labour and national are equally to blame..but under national and it's think big policy's have increase pressure by allowing increased harvesting.The effects of that are showing now. National show little concern about sustainable methods. What happens as stocks decrease increase effort by commercial ends up decimating remaining stocks. By the time Mpi do anything to preserve what is left it's to late. For any recovery to take place 10 year closure to allow habit to reestablish. Methods have to change to sustain any rebuild ------------- The People Protest Actions Speak Louder Than Words |
Posted By: Garry 23041
Date Posted: 10 Jun 2016 at 7:50am
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We used to jump over the side in 14m off Puheke beach and get our scallops in 10mins then use our tank balance for a cray dive. I am only talking 5 or 6 years ago it all ended. For 6 years we watched the commercial boats plough square ks of beds with millions of scallops day in and day out till they were gone. There were enough there for generations of divers to come and raising population numbers to still have a great morning out and a super feed. I can't get my head around the whole "they might die anyway so lets kill them" argument either. Scallops need numbers to breed (bio mass) they just have a squirt and hope to get lucky from what I hear. You need a lot of girls around for that trick to work. Crays are so declined up here it is a joke also....very sad. I have been told Doubtless was full of scallops once also. I know what happened to them as well...same same. |
Posted By: mowerman
Date Posted: 10 Jun 2016 at 8:17am
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MPI In charge of our Fisheries is like giving matches to pre school students.. ------------- The People Protest Actions Speak Louder Than Words |
Posted By: OuttaHere
Date Posted: 10 Jun 2016 at 8:51am
Who do you propose putting in charge then? I've got a great idea, why don't we get a collection of educated people, that have studied fisheries science and that kind of thing, then assemble them into some sort of agency.... but they'll need funding and some sort of delegated authority, so they better be part of the government. In fact we could get a whole lot of people who specialise in different areas like agriculture as well, then make a big well-funded organisation... it could be a ministry even. Since agriculture and fisheries are considered "Primary Industries" the name is pretty easy too, we'll call it the Ministry of Primary Industries! Problem solved?
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Posted By: mowerman
Date Posted: 10 Jun 2016 at 9:13am
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Mpi need a make over. .name is ok. But independent from Government control. It's recommendations have to be listen to Made up by independent people in no way connection to government.meaning not picked by the government or we end up with what we have got again ------------- The People Protest Actions Speak Louder Than Words |
Posted By: Capt Asparagus
Date Posted: 10 Jun 2016 at 10:05am
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If you do that then you get shonky, looney policies imposed such as those imposed....briefly but devastatingly....in Australia on the trucking industry which banned truck owners from driving their own trucks...immediately put 36000 trickiest out of business. That was the result of a real commission report recommendation by an appointed "independent" body of experts. National , labour, green, who ever, all are advised by their officials as to what course to take on any specific issue. The huge increase in the HG scallop quota was not determined by john key in Wellington on a whim, it was decided on by fisheries officials (yes, likely in Wellington, but that is irrelevant), and then announced. It had zero to do with any govt policy, it was a resource allocation thing. I don't LIKE it, I think it was a very poor decision, but you simply cannot say it is all the national party's fault, that's like saying the car that crashes into your front fence is all your fault coz you were running you property at the time (that allusion needs some brushing up, but as I am currently sitting here.....  ...at the moment, I simply can't be bothered) To make scallop harvesting all by diver only, that ain't going to happen, unless you like paying ten bucks for a scallop. However, there are less damaging dredging techniques out there I think that could be explored. ------------- It is only my overwhelming natural humility that mars my perfection. Captain Asparagus, Superhero, Adventurer. |
Posted By: mowerman
Date Posted: 10 Jun 2016 at 10:40am
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Unfortunately blame does go back on National to chairman John key and all his merry men. Their increased export drive policy has been at the expense of the marine life as they have increased the commercial take. As stated..taking it faster than it can breed. Maximum amounts being harvested have seen it collapse. The sea bed destruction which will not support re seeding.. They know it destroys the habitat . As for that mother bed.yes maybe it might have died out..but who really knows? Maybe it had been reseeding itself and surrounding areas for years. It won't now will it ? Plus all other beds stripped out. That has upset the natural balance. What rocket scientists do they have advising them that all is well when history and nature has shown it's not..Eg H/g mussels All these filter feeders are part of a balanced eco system. They talk about water quality. .look what they are doing to degrade it.. There has to be a balance..clearly they don't care about balance and tipping points or they wouldn't embark on this continued over havesting of all species They are fishing themselves out of a job.how narrow minded is that ? Maybe it's A good thing everything collapse around them. Then they can all blame each other. Most of us know where the problems stem from. Some don't care..some think we are a bunch of moaners .Well the likes of Greenpeace. Legasea and all us moaners help in changes and conservation The industry and government have to be held accountable for their actions They don't own the fish..they manage..what a shyt they do.They don't manage it..it's all or nothing ------------- The People Protest Actions Speak Louder Than Words |
Posted By: Derek F
Date Posted: 10 Jun 2016 at 11:27am
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What is most upsetting from any government is that they never have the moral fortitude to admit any mistake. And because they won't admit a mistake they will never make the changes they should. ------------- And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more...Erica Jong |
Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 10 Jun 2016 at 11:55am
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Just another example of MPI's 'worlds best' fisheries management. Let commercial overfishing deplete the stock to the point of collapse, then close it to both commercial and recreational fishing so it can rebuild. How often do we ever see recreational daily limits get increased when compared to the increased TACC's handed out to the commercial fleets once any stock starts to rebuild? That's a very rare thing! MPI/government seem to be of the same mind as the commercial fishing industry - hammer away at the stocks and make as much short term gain as you can because a $1 today is worth more than a $1 tomorrow. That way we can make sure that the recreational community doesn't get any more of the stock than we can avoid them getting. It's funny when you hear the industry patting themselves on the back for 'voluntary' TACC reductions or closures etc. Notice that it only ever happens on the deep water stocks and never on the shared inshore stocks that are so badly threatened! Shared stocks = catch as much as you can before the other guys gets them.
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Posted By: notalloyit
Date Posted: 10 Jun 2016 at 11:58am
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Having spent the last twenty or so years up at Collingwood G/Bay each new year, the decline has been incredible, what has been obvious is, when season is in swing, the boats were coming in very close to shore, dredging, catches were nil the day after, IN, the same area that has traditionally been used by Rec fishers to dredge. Talking to locals this year there was considerable water / pollution contamination, from the Takaka river area due to floods and overflow from waste water, which affected the scallops. For the last five years there has been nothing worthwhile to take, even after prospecting a greater area. What i did note the last time i actually got a feed was, when dragging, you could feel the huge furrows left by the commercial guys on the drag of the dredge, my theory was, to drag across the general pattern rather than in a west to east as per normal. I understood there was supposed to be 5 areas in seed, 1 per year to be,used the other four then used in rotation so there was technically 4-5 years for each area to regenerate. But since fisheries changed hands not done now, WHY? How can they allow a bigger quota on an already stressed and mutilated food source ? ------------- BNS Design & Print LTD 0800 733 000 for all printing needs, special rates for website members. Free freight NZ wide. |
Posted By: mowerman
Date Posted: 10 Jun 2016 at 12:33pm
------------- The People Protest Actions Speak Louder Than Words |
The composite graph of shellfish harvests was obtained from the Ministry of Fisheries web site for each of the fisheries listed. It shows how all of our shellfish fisheries have collapsed to near extinction and that cockles are soon to follow. Note that most of the fisheries have been managed under tight control, but even so, collapsed. Note also that some fisheries have had respite which didn't result in a recovery. Ask yourself why a nation would allow its most precious fisheries to collapse like this? Obviously there is a new and unexpected threat at work. You and I now know what that is, but the fisheries scientists don't.Posted By: Don18025
Date Posted: 10 Jun 2016 at 4:21pm
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In my written submission on the Hauraki Gulf recreational fishing park, I proposed and fully support a complete ban on all dredging and set netting. The comments made here about dredging confirm that I am on the money, and that there is support out there to ban dredging. It is totally destructive to the benthic zone and all recreational fishermen should not dredge.
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Posted By: Garry 23041
Date Posted: 10 Jun 2016 at 10:14pm
| I have had the scary experience of having a dredge go past me while diving.....pretty destructive stuff. |
Posted By: Lethal
Date Posted: 10 Jun 2016 at 11:14pm
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the total commercial catch harvested from the HG was around 6000t during the 1991-1992 fishing year, and has since dropped to around half that amount 3000t since the 2001-2002 fishing year, this has coincided with a gradual reduction in the number of commercial vessels, fishing within the HG, from around 500 in the 1991-1992 year to around only 150 in the year 2007-2008 year |
Posted By: mowerman
Date Posted: 11 Jun 2016 at 12:30am
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Those figures obviously proof of a non sustainable industry ------------- The People Protest Actions Speak Louder Than Words |