Fishery closure ‘not enough’
Scallops are off the menu in Coromandel.
After decades of holidaymakers and commercial boats scouring the seabed for the delicacy, Oceans and Fisheries Minister David Parker has closed almost all the scallop fisheries in Coromandel and Northland.
From today, only two areas around Hauturu/Little Barrier Island and Colville Channel will remain open with some restrictions.
Describing the declining scallop population as ‘‘alarming’’, Parker said strong measures are needed to restore the fisheries.
Some locals leaders support the closures saying it can be a valuable tool for replenishing stock, while local iwi and lobby group Legasea argue it’s not enough.
Parker said the step was the right thing to do.
‘‘Removing fishing pressure is an important and immediate measure that can contribute to their ongoing sustainability. It is the responsible action to take,’’ Parker said.
‘‘A number of factors are contributing to the continued serious decline in scallop numbers including sedimentation, dredging and the use of GPS technology to locate and exploit scallop beds.
A report from Niwa in February showed Hauraki Gulf scallop numbers have plummeted 93 per cent in the past 10 years, while numbers at Northland’s East Coast scallop beds have fallen 63 per cent over 13 years.
The closures follow a 50 per cent cut to the total allowable commercial catch in the Coromandel scallop fishery in 2016. The commercial catch for the Northland scallop fishery was cut by 75 per cent in 2020.
Thames-Coromandel deputy mayor Murray McLean, a councillor for Mercury Bay ward, said he supported the closure if it was necessary to protect the scallop beds.
‘‘It’s essential that we farm the fisheries for future years,’’ McLean said.
‘‘If that means we have to close them, to allow them to recover, that’s what we have to do.’’
He said the same principle applied to anything harvested from the sea. ‘‘We’ve got to look after it for future generations.’’
McLean said that scallops had not been processed commercially in Whitianga for some years.
The local scallop fishing industry had downsized markedly since the 1990s, when about 20 boats would be heading out from Whitianga, because the fishery had been depleted.
That meant the closure’s impacts on jobs and economic activity in Whitianga would be minimal, McLean said.
Another Mercury Bay councillor, Tony Fox, agreed with McLean that rāhui on seafood gathering can be a good tool when
‘‘Removing fishing pressure is an important and immediate measure that can contribute to their ongoing sustainability. It is the responsible action to take. ’’
David Parker
Fisheries minister