Whitebait facing extinction

The Government has been warned New Zealand’s whitebait population could be wiped out within the next 16 years.

The Aoraki Conservation Board has made the claim in a letter calling on the Government to act urgently or risk having the fishery die out.

In an open letter to the ministers of conservation, environment and fisheries, the board expresses its concern about the status of whitebait Inanga in New Zealand.

‘‘Inanga is made up of five species, three of which are in decline and one is threatened ... without immediate action, one of the five whitebait species could be extinct within three years and all five extinct by 2034,’’ the letter says.

‘‘In this open letter we wish to call upon the Government to undertake an interdepartmental review of the whitebait fishery and associated issues.’’

Board chairman Mick Abbott said research indicated time was running out.

‘‘We think this really requires prompt consideration from the government.’’

Abbott said there were a range of issues about the current state of whitebait fishing regulation.

In particular, the existence of three differing sets of whitebait regulations, and the lack of recreational quota and licensing, had caused problems down the line for whitebait numbers.

The whitebait season is open between August 15 and November 30 (inclusive) in all areas of New Zealand except the West Coast of the South Chatham Islands.

The Department of Conservation manages the regulations for whitebait fishing.

Last year, Massey University researchers Kyleisha Foote and Pierce McNie presented the primary production select committee with a petition calling for the end of commercial whitebaiting.

The petition had received more than 3000 signatures.

Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash said he had not received the board’s letter yet, but would be talking to them in due course.

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage said she was expecting a report mid-year that collates the available scientific knowledge on whitebait, including their biology and ecology, population status and threats.

‘‘I have directed the department to establish a technical advisory group to develop options for improving whitebait management. The group has yet to be established. Its work will take some months and there will be public consultation before any changes to regulations affecting whitebaiting,’’ Island and the Sage said.

‘‘When 72 per cent of native fish are at risk of, or threatened with, extinction, we need to do better in protecting their habitats.’’

Sage said she had asked DOC to look at what changes are needed in legislation and current regulations to better manage native freshwater fish. ‘‘More needs to be done. Improving the prospects for New Zealand’s native freshwater fish is a priority for me as minister’’