Whitebaiters face restrictions

Some Southland rivers could be closed from whitebaiting for up to 10 years and the season shortened under new proposals to manage the fishery.

New proposals released by the Department of Conservation yesterday to manage whitebait in New Zealand could mean banning exports, restricting the equipment used, limiting upstream fishing, reducing the length of the season and closing some rivers for up to 10 years.

The Waiau River, Jacob River Estuary, Waikawa River and Freshwater River on Stewart Island were some of the waterways which could close for whitebaiting for set periods of time.

The river-closure proposals range from permitting fishing for two years then banning for two years in a repeat cycle, and bans between five and 10 years before the measures are reviewed.

Other proposed changes include phasing out sock nets, traps in nets and screens. Fishing could be prohibited from structures other than stands, and only one net used per stand.

Invercargill MP and National’s conservation spokeswoman Sarah Dowie said she believed there was insufficient information to make an informed decision on which rivers posed a potential threat to whitebait stocks.

She was not against the management of the fishery but said decisions had to be made from an evidence approach.

‘‘Decisions should not be based on ideology. Decisions should be based on science,’’ Dowie said.

There were also concerns as to what an export ban meant, and the impact on the commercial sale of whitebait.

It was important that the public, from conservationists to recreational whitebaiters, took all the information into account when deciding the future of whitebaiting in New Zealand, she said.

Southland Recreational Whitebaiters Association president Roger McNaughton said that from what he understood of the proposals, they were not as severe as they could have been.

However, he still had his concerns.

The restrictions on specific rivers would be something to watch out for, McNaughton said.

There was no reason to shut down waters from fishing for a certain number of years and the fisheries could still be protected while allowing people to fish, he said.

The proposals to help restore whitebait populations were aimed at creating a nationally consistent approach.

One of the proposals the Southland

Recreational Whitebaiters Association sent out during the engagement consultation last year was that the suggestion that recreational whitebaiters discuss their own waterways locally, McNaughton said.

There would be more of a buy-in to whitebait management if there was a sense of local ownership, he said.

The department has recommended shortening the season from August 15 to October 14, September 1 to October 30, or September 1 to November 15.

The current season runs from September

1 to November 15 on the West Coast and August 15 to November 30 for the rest of New Zealand.

Although McNaughton had no concerns about the shortening of the season, he felt it made more sense to have the season at the start of September and finish at the end of November.

A public discussion session on the proposals will held in Invercargill on January 30.

Submissions on the proposal will close on March 2.