TRC backs two-year shellfish ban
A proposed two-year legal ban on collecting shellfish along much of the Taranaki coast and 3.7km out to sea has received regional council backing.
The iwi-led ban would stop the collection of all seaweed (aside from beach cast), anemones and shellfish including sought after kaimoana such as paua, crayfish and kina in an effort to provide time for the species to regenerate.
The ban on recreational harvesting would cover the use of pots to catch crayfish within 3.7km of shore. Cray potting and diving for crayfish is popular along much of the Taranaki coast.
The Ministry of Primary Industries has called for submissions on the proposal and if the ban gets the green light it would provide legal backing to the rāhui set by hapū and kaitiaki of Ngāruahine and Taranaki iwi.
The rāhui was put in place earlier this year after concerns the region’s pāua beds and other shellfish habitats were being stripped bare over summer by hundreds of people from outside the region.
Taking kaimoana under a legal ban attracts fines of up to $5000, or up to $100,000 if it is taken for sale.
The ban on harvesting would start near New Plymouth at the south bank of the Herekawe Stream mouth, and carry down along the coast to the western side of the Rawa Stream north of Manaia, fully encompassing the towns Oakura and Opunake. It will extend out to sea for two nautical miles (3.7km) from the high-water mark. The ban does not include the coast north of New Plymouth or south of Manaia.
While a ban would have to provide for the use and management practices of tangata whenua, all hapū had agreed to issue no cultural harvest permits for hui and tangihanga.
At its meeting yesterday, Taranaki Regional Council’s (TRC) Policy and Planning Committee unanimously decided to submit in support of the ban. In its submission, TRC said it had found habitat disturbance around areas heavily fished, likely from people overturning rocks when searching for shellfish.
The council said the disturbance could have an ongoing impact on the viability of the intertidal communities in those areas.
Meeting chairperson Charlotte Littlewood said she had been to the community meeting in Oakura, which attracted around 100 people, and that it was ‘‘excellent to see the widespread community support for the prohibition’’.
‘‘I think the reason the
community is supporting it is because fishers, divers, they’ve been going out there and whereas they used to get 25 crayfish, they now get three.’’
Another issue was that if parts of the Taranaki coast were blocked off, other areas on the edges would ‘‘get hammered’’.
Councillor Elvisa Van Der Leden said one of the big issues raised was around enforcement as currently iwi members were ‘‘out there doing it voluntarily’’.
Currently, there are 1.5 full-time fisheries officers operating, as well as three to four voluntary officers.
While the ban has received plenty of support so far, there are some who would like to see a less comprehensive ban.
New Plymouth Sportfishing and Underwater Club had said it would like crayfish to be managed separately as anecdotal evidence was cray populations overall along the coast were the best they have been for decades.
A plan would also have to be made for when the ban would be lifted if other regions were anything to go by. In Kaikōura’s first pāua season in five years 35 tonnes of shellfish was harvested in three months, leaving locals ‘‘horrified’’.
New Plymouth District Council is also drafting a position on the proposed ban. Submissions close on September 12.