The water’s warm and the fishing’s good
Settled weather and warmer than normal sea temperatures off the Taranaki coast bode well for lying on the beach, taking a dip, or fishing during December, meteorologists say.
Sea surface temperatures measured by National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research satellite sensors are six degrees Celsius higher than normal in the Tasman Sea.
The warmer sea would help to take the bite out of normally cool offshore breezes for sunbathers and swimmers, Met-Service meteorologist Georgina Griffiths said.
Taranaki has experienced settled fine weather and warm temperatures in the low to mid 20 degrees celsius for the past month.
The weather conditions should not change for December, Griffiths said.
The high over the country had helped ramp up the sea surface temperatures off the coast, she said.
‘‘Together with light winds there had been little mixing of the ocean surface water and we have got abnormally warm sea water.’’
Griffiths said the sea temperatures had probably risen 3-4 degrees off the Taranaki coastline.
‘‘That sort of increase is really, really abnormal.’’
The Met-Service had forecasted a hot December throughout the country, and likely to be the warmest December on record for New Plymouth, she said.
The past month of settled weather had meant uninterrupted fishing for New Plymouth commercial fisherman Rob Ansley.
‘‘It’s been fantastic weather, and probably the best fishing I’ve experienced in a long time,’’ the skipper of Layla said.
Good amounts of rig, trevally, and snapper had been caught either long lining or in nets, he said.
Large schools of kahawai and kingfish close to shore and in relatively shallow water had also been seen.
Ansley said the settled weather and flat seas, not the warm sea temperature, was the reason for the good catches.
‘‘I’ve seen the sea as warm as 18C like this before, it’s just the long spell of good weather.’’
‘‘There had been a lot of stir ups, and we’ve had good, clean water and been able to get out every day so it’s been easier to get quota,’’ he said.
The warmer water did mean more sharks had been seen, he said. ‘‘There’s been some big sharks out there, such as threshers, and bronze whalers.’’