Covid restrictions see whitebaiters miss out

The West Coast whitebait season has kicked off with stunning weather, but many keen fishers are missing out due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The West Coast season opened yesterday, while the rest of the country was allowed to fish from August 15.

West Coast Whitebaiters’ Association president Rob Roney said his members were relieved to hear that whitebaiting was allowed under level 3 restrictions, but some were confused about the rules.

‘‘There has been some mixed messages, so I put out a reminder to our 500-odd members that they can fish in their local area, which means close to home. Most people who need to travel any distances will have to miss out until level 2,’’ he said.

He was gutted that he would have to miss out himself, because his gear was stored at his bach in Westland.

Roney said there was some confusion about whether people could use their car to travel, or to fish from rocks. He understood that fishing over deep water was not allowed for safety reasons.

Under Covid-19 alert level 3 rules, fishing off rocks or from a boat is forbidden, but people can drive a short distance to local rivers.

Department of Conservation (DOC) Greymouth operations manager Shane Hall said it was OK to whitebait from the Grey River floodwall rocks. ‘‘That structure is . . . designed to absorb the energy of waves to lessen erosion.’’

Whitebaiters must also stay two metres from other river users, and only fish from the banks of rivers or the water’s edge.

‘‘Keep it local – go to your nearest fishing spot, not your favourite fishing spot,’’ Hall said.

Senior Sergeant Mark Kirkwood said police would be out making sure people were abiding by level 3 restrictions. ‘‘We will be taking a common-sense, pragmatic approach.’’

DOC’s Western South Island operations director, Mark Davies, said rangers would out observing whitebaiters – from a distance – to make sure they were following the rules.

‘‘We do want to emphasise in a Covid Delta strain environment, the welfare of our staff is our number one priority.’’

There would be proactive patrols at popular whitebaiting sites, and police would be notified if people were gathering in groups, he said.