Fishing overhaul recommended
Compulsory fishing licences for recreational anglers and possibly removing minimum size limits for some species are among a series of drastic changes that have been recommended to the Government to better regulate New Zealand’s recreational fishing community.
The Future Catch report was produced by independent public policy think-tank The New Zealand Initiative.
It outlines a five-year study on the state of New Zealand’s recreational fishing sector, with a focus on preserving fish stocks for the next generation of recreational anglers.
The report, written by former Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) employee Randall Bess, has been presented to new Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash, who will give a speech responding to the report today.
The report recommends investigating removing minimum size limits for some species including snapper, introducing a recreational fishing licence for anglers, and a registration system for boats or petrol excise duty to better fund management of recreational fishing.
Bess said the need to throw back under-sized fish may be hindering stock rebuild, because many fish, such as snapper, that had been caught and released die.
The current snapper size limit for recreational anglers is 27 centimetres.
With Kiwis owning nearly 1 million recreational boats, it made sense to fund management of recreational fishing through a petrol excise duty rather than from general tax revenue.
‘‘Recreational boaters are far more likely to benefit from expenditure on fisheries management than taxpayers in general,’’ Bess added.
Alternative funding methods could include a licensing system or an annual boat registration fee.
Fishing And Outdoors Newspaper editor Graham Carter said the report had not been well received by recreational anglers.
‘‘The report is a complete crock, outdated and vastly unsupported by recreational fishers. It is targeting recreational fishers and misses the point of why the inshore fishery for the most part is completely shagged.’’
Minimum size limits protected species from being over-fished, he said. ‘‘Size limits protect, not endanger fish. And common sense tells every fisherman, if a fish is under 30cm, it’s not worth filleting. There would be nothing to eat,’’ he said.