Coasters maintain they take the bait
HAAST
SOUTH WESTLAND whitebaiter Charlie Neilson says he is prepared to go to jail rather than give up fishing his favourite river.
And the Waimate sheep and beef farmer says he is not alone.
Mr Neilson fishes the Haast River which is on a list of dozens of rivers across the country that could become ‘‘whitebait refuges’’ — meaning fishing it would be illegal.
The Department of Conservation has drawn up the list, which includes 25 West Coast rivers, and is asking the Government to choose.
If adopted, some of the rivers might be closed for periods of two years or for longer than 10 years.
Mr Neilson was one of a group of whitebaiters spoken to by the Otago Daily Times at the end of last month.
They were adamant that if the ban came in next season, they would still be on the riverbank
fishing as usual on opening day.
‘‘I’ve talked to a lot of people on this river and other rivers further north and we’ve all got the same opinion,’’ Mr
Neilson said.
‘‘And, if we all stick together on it, we’re going to make a stand.’’
He believed farmers protesting over the Government’s new freshwater management regime were showing the way.
‘‘If you do it all together — not just one man.
‘‘It’s got to be everyone.’’
West Coast Whitebait Association executive member Mike Thomas had heard the talk about refusing to abide by a fishing ban.
‘‘That is exactly my sentiment, and that’s what we don’t want.
‘‘But I think we would do it.’’ He described as ‘‘disastrous’’ Doc’s proposed whitebait management plan which also includes changes to seasons and fishing methods.
The central argument in the debate has been whether the whitebait population is in decline or remains stable, with seasonal fluctuations.
Doc freshwater manager Elizabeth Heeg said the adults of four of the six species of whitebait were listed as ‘‘threatened or at risk of extinction’’ in the latest freshwater fish threat classification report.
Ms Heeg said the classification system used ‘‘all available information’’.
Listings were determined by a panel of experts and members of a various organisations that could include universities, regional councils, Doc and MPI.
Mr Thomas said he had 60 years of records from the Big Bay area of South Westland showing whitebait were not in decline.
However, it was not accepted for inclusion in Doc’s public consultation document.
‘‘The Big Bay area has no decline.
‘‘They catch the same amount of whitebait every year but it is seasonal.
‘‘The last two years were really good; the one before wasn’t too flash.’’
Mr Thomas said whitebaiters caught only 10% of whitebait that swam up rivers, and he considered the major problem was brown trout.
‘‘We have a major predator attacking whitebait 365 days of the year, 24 hours a day.’’
Whitebait stands in South Westland are said to change hands for up to $250,000.
Asked about financial compensation for those on refuge rivers, Ms Heeg said that would be a matter for the Government.
Haast River whitebaiter James Mitchell said he would expect to be offered compensation but he and his partners would probably not stop fishing the river anyway. ‘‘I don’t think we’d stop. ‘‘We’ve got a resource consent; we own the stands; there’s plenty of whitebait.
‘‘There’d be quite a fight going on.’’
Naomi and Peter Bloxham from Wyndham have fished the Waiatoto for about 40 years and called the idea of it becoming a whitebait refuge ‘‘ridiculous’’.
Mrs Bloxham said there was already a refuge river nearby and there was no need for more.
John Hewer, who lives next to the Waiatoto with his elderly father believed little would change with a ban on fishing because the ‘‘vastness’’ of the West Coast made it difficult to police.
The list of possible refuges in South Westland includes the Cascade, Smoothwater, Arawhata, Waiatoto, Okuru, Haast, Paringa, Manakaiaua and Cook Rivers.