Frying pan comment ‘flippant’

A fisheries officer made a ‘‘flippant comment’’ by telling a blue cod fisherman in the Marlborough Sounds that he had to have his frying pan on before filleting his catch.

Ministry of Primary Industries district compliance manager Ian Bright said it was a throwaway remark. There was no such thing as the ‘‘frying pan rule’’.

Fisherman Frank McWatt told media about the comment. He was returning to Havelock marina on his boat Savvy 2 when he was told by a MPI officer he could fillet his blue cod only if his frying pan was on.

McWatt and his family had tucked into the fillets for dinner the night before and put the leftovers in the fridge, which was against regulations. The officer waived the $250 fine.

MPI regulations state a person must not possess any blue cod in the Challenger (East) area, including the Sounds, unless it is in a whole or gutted state.

A person could have filleted blue cod in that area if it was to be eaten immediately on the boat. This meant the fish could be filleted provided it was ‘‘cooked straight away, without delay’’, Bright said.

‘‘Immediate doesn’t mean filleting at 7pm and then sticking it in the fridge for the next day’s dinner.’’

There was no frying pan rule, Bright said.

‘‘The officer was bringing to his attention what they considered immediate consumption. It was an analogy. It was a flippant comment taken out of context.

To have blue cod in either a whole or gutted state helped fisheries officers ensure all fish caught met the minimum size limit of 33 centimetres which was important for the long term viability of the fishery, Bright said.

‘‘The new rules and regulations regarding the filleting of blue cod in Challenger (East) are designed to protect this important fishery.

‘‘It is important for all individuals to be aware that the new regulations are there to ensure that it becomes a stable and sustainable fishery for all.’’

Rural fire officer and recreational fisherman Ian Montgomery, of Okiwi Bay, said it was ‘‘plain dangerous’’ to put a frying pan on then leave it to fillet a fish.

‘‘We constantly say the message ‘look while you are cooking’. It’s asking for trouble. If you put the frying pan on and left it, the boat could go on fire.’’

The frying pan remark was ridiculous, Montgomery said.

‘‘Immediate consumption to me is you are going to eat the fish for your next meal. He could have been having sashimi and leaving it to chill in the fridge.’’

It would have been a different matter if the leftover fillets were frozen and packaged to be taken home, he said.

He believed a fillet should be set in the fridge before it was cooked.

‘‘You cover them with glad wrap, and set it in the fridge, roll them in flour if you are going to batter them, then cook them. It’s just practical cooking.’’

Boaties should keep the skeletons so the fish could be measured, he said.

Eric Jorgensen, an honorary fisheries officer and member of the Blue Cod Management Group, said the ministry needed a better way to articulate what it meant by immediate consumption. ‘‘It’s open to interpretation and abuse.’’