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continue under existing rules.
Fisheries management director Emma Taylor said public consultation on the request was done between April and May.
“We received more than 2000 submissions, with the majority supporting a closure,” she said. “The feedback from tangata whenua and the public reflects the results of recent scientific surveys, commissioned by Fisheries New Zealand. These highlight concerns around the sustainability of scallop stocks right across the northern scallop fisheries, including the east Coromandel area.
“While addressing fishing activity is part of the picture, we also know that scallops are affected by landbased impacts such as sedimentation, and by changes to water quality.”
Taylor said the closure would relieve some of the pressure while work continued by central and local Government to address fishing and non-fishing-related impacts.
“A large part of Opito Bay was already closed to commercial scallop harvesting, on top of seasonal restrictions for recreational and commercial fishing.
“The new closure area is much larger and applies to both recreational and commercial scallop fishing. This will support scallop populations, across a larger area of the coastline and is part of the overall scallop management picture that Fisheries New Zealand is currently considering.”
The closure follows a customary ra¯ hui placed by Nga¯ ti Hei on the Opito Bay area in December, to take pressure off the scallop fishery.
The closure will be legally enforceable from today.
Anyone with information about suspected illegal fishing should contact MPI on 0800 4 POACHER to report it.
New members reflect broader focus for Energy Resources Aotearoa
Energy Resources Aotearoa has welcomed Oji Fibre Solutions and Powerco as members, reflecting the organisation’s new focus on the wider energy sector.
Packaging paper manufacturer Oji Fibre Solutions is one of the first major energy users to join Energy Resources Aotearoa. Powerco is also one of the first energy infrastructure companies to join Energy Resources Aotearoa.
Energy Resources Aotearoa chief executive John Carnegie said he expected these new members to be the first of many to come. “This reflects our new strategy to focus on the wider energy sector, recognising the sector is closely interlinked.”
Consumer card spending beginning to bounce back
Card spending is beginning to bounce back from the previous week, new data from the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) shows.
BNZ chief cconomist Paul Conway said there were tentative signs the bounce back from the lockdown was under way, with card spending up 12 per cent on last week. It is now sitting at 37 per cent below pre-lockdown levels.
“With most of the country now at Covid-19 alert level 2, it’s expected that spending would rise, but with our biggest city and the centre of the economy still in alert level 4, that rise will be somewhat sluggish. “There’s definitely room for optimism.”
Conway said at the same point in the nationwide lockdown in 2020, card spending was 61 per cent below the pre-lockdown average.
“We continue to see online spending growing too, suggesting that people and businesses may be more adept at operating online, which could be helping to soften the economic impacts.”
Across regions, the hit to spending relative to pre-lockdown levels ranges from 63 per cent in Marlborough to 33 per cent in Tasman. The Auckland and Wellington regions have had spending declines of 40 per cent and 41 per cent respectively.
In the Bay of Plenty, spending was down 53 per cent.
“We’re also seeing a difference in what New Zealanders are spending their money on.”
Conway said spending on IT equipment and software, internet payment services, and financial services has surged well ahead of prelockdown levels.
Taking pets to work could improve employee wellbeing
A Tauranga-based people and performance managing consulting business says bringing pets to work increases employee’s mental wellbeing.
The business was now trialling the new pet-friendly initiative in the workplace.
Partners & Co partner Lindsey Rayner said the company firmly believes people are a company’s biggest asset, therefore, supporting employees’ wellbeing is essential for a business’ success.
Rayner said she was apprehensive about having animals in the workplace before realising the positive impact it would have on her team. “My team asked if they could bring their dogs into work and I initially thought, “What will our clients think?’,” she said. “But after checking with everyone first they enjoyed having pets at work. It was evident in their behaviour that they were happier when pets were there and there is something therapeutic about having a doggie cuddle.”