Coromandel scallops — where have they gone?
One of New Zealand’s scallop populations is in dire straits, a survey off the coast of eastern Coromandel reveals, verifying what locals have long feared.
A snapshot survey commissioned by the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council near Opito Bay has discovered its seabeds are unlikely to recover from their depleted state.
Swimming metre by metre towards the shore, divers discovered they would have to swim on average the length of a swimming pool before finding one legalsized scallop.
It’s an alarming result that action group Legasea says could see the Coromandel in a similar position to Marlborough Sounds, a once abundant ecosystem now on to another ra¯ hui after its fourth unsuccessful year.
‘‘We have found that you have to swim 26 square metres to find a single legal scallop,’’ Legasea spokesman Sam Woolford told Stuff.
‘‘To put that in context, I’m a free diver and on a reasonably healthy seabed I can pick up 10 scallops in a single breath . . . but I am not swimming 250 metres to find 10 scallops. That’s how bad it is.
‘‘We’ve got the Marlborough Sounds,
Tasman Bay, Kaipara Harbour and all these areas have been closed to scallop fishing for a long time. Marlborough has been closed again for the fifth year because of the way we’ve mismanaged our scallop beds.
‘‘These scallop populations have been decimated. They’ve been overharvested and the commercial dredging has smashed up the sea floor’’.
Divers counted 1571 scallops inside the commercial and recreational areas of Opito Bay. Of the 1571 scallops, 561 were of legal recreational size (over 100mm) and 1010 under the legal limit.
Woolford said Legasea has put the number of legal-sized scallops down to people respecting the voluntary ra¯ hui over summer.
While 1010 undersized scallops seems like a lot, he said, for the size of the bay, it’s not good news.
As well as the distance between scallops, divers noted visible dredge towlines that had damaged the sea floor and a lack of other shellfish.
This indicates things ‘‘will probably get worse before they get better’’, he said.
The dive survey was led by the Coromandel Scallop Restoration Team and Dive Zone Whitianga. Qualified divers conducted the data collection and marine scientists completed the report.
It began in April after frustrations around a lack of action from Government on declining scallop numbers, prompting Nga¯ ti Hei to put a voluntary ra¯ hui in Opito Bay waters over the summer period.
The Opito Bay Ratepayers Association raised more than $25,000 to contribute to the project’s costs.
Prompted by a large backing from the community, Nga¯ ti Hei has since requested the Ministry for the Environment impose an official ra¯ hui on scallop harvesting for all of eastern Coromandel waters.
Nga¯ ti Hei kauma¯ tua Joe Davis said the survey is a baseline to justify the two-year ra¯ hui.
‘‘This data backs up what we’ve been saying for years,’’ Davis said. ‘‘If you go back 30 years ago, there used to be tonnes of scallops with regular natural wash-ups which gave us a nice feed, as well as our birdlife.
‘‘The signs are there that we have a declining fishery, and we need to do something about it sooner rather than later.’’
He said the results are also a sign that more needs to be done than just a two-year ra¯ hui. With harmful fishing techniques and dredging still allowed, he said, a twoyear ban is unlikely to see results with the lifecycle of a scallop usually around five to six years.
If the ra¯ hui is accepted, Davis said they will do another survey towards the end of the two-year mark to see if there’s progress.
Legasea spokesman Sam Woolford said the management quota is failing.
Ngati Hei kauma¯ tua Joe Davis said a good easterly would see scallops wash up on the shores.