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Ban on way to protect pāua beds

Catherine Groenestein catherine.groenestein @stuff.co.nz

A proposed two-year ban on shellfish gathering along the Taranaki coast is a start, but calls are being made for permanent changes to size and catch limits to stop pāua beds being plundered once the ban ends.

The proposal by Fisheries New Zealand would add legal teeth to a rāhui that currently covers some 70km of coast, from just south of

punakē to the Herekawe Stream, in New Plymouth.

The legal prohibition was requested by the hapū of Taranaki iwi following alarm over summer that the region’s pāua beds were being stripped bare by hundreds of visitors, many from outside the area.

But Erin John, a community member involved in raising awareness about the over-harvesting, said a ban was just the beginning.

Plans for the future management of the reefs were urgently needed, too, to avoid Taranaki’s coastline being plundered once a ban was lifted, as occurred at Kaikōura last summer, she said.

Kaikōura had its first pāua season for five years, and 35 tonnes of the shellfish was harvested by recreational fishers in just three months.

‘‘People just went berserk, apparently,’’ John said.

‘‘The community needs to make sure we have a management plan in place going forward.’’

Under current rules, individuals can gather 10 pāua measuring 85mm or more per day. No person is allowed more than 20 pāua, or 2.5kg of shucked pāua meat, in their possession at any one time.

Possible future measures to protect the kai moana could include increasing the size for takeable shellfish; lowering the daily limits; making it illegal to take pāua off rocks, so it could only be harvested by diving; and having short closures to protect the shellfish beds during times with the very low tides that attracted crowds of out-of-town harvesters over summer.

At the same time, management was needed to allow for people who relied on the sea for kai to be able to take some for their families.

‘‘I am also encouraging people to become voluntary fisheries officers, to assist the region’s fulltime fisheries officers,’’ John said.

The rāhui, originally imposed until July 31, would remain in place until further notice, she said.

Over recent months, community observers had been documenting how many people were out gathering shellfish, and speaking with harvesters to educate them about the rāhui and the daily limits, she said.

Several community meetings had been held to keep everyone up to date. Another is planned for August 28 at the Oakura Hall at 11am, to discuss the application and its progress.

Fisheries NZ is calling for submissions until September 12 on the ban on taking all shellfish, all seaweed (except beach-cast seaweed), both species of conger eels, and anemones.

If imposed, it means fisheries officers and police will have the power to enforce the prohibition, easing stress on the community, who have been trying to protect their areas of coast.

Anyone taking kaimoana under a legal ban can be fined up to $5000, or up to $100,000 if it is taken for sale.

The proposed closure, advertised in newspapers this week, covers 300.6 square km of Taranaki waters between the Rawa Stream in the south and Herekawe Stream, near New Plymouth’s Back Beach, in the north, and out to two nautical miles.

Opunake kaitiaki Jack Davey, who is from rimupiko hapū, which laid the first rāhui in January, welcomed the proposed closure. He said he hoped it would give pāua and other shellfish time to replenish.

Although rāhui are not legally enforceable, those in the community and from wider Taranaki had respected it, Davey said.

‘‘The locals did. Out-of-towners – from outside Taranaki – didn’t respect it at all, until they were told to go away.

‘‘I think it did reduce the take in some areas. Here, it has decreased a heck of a lot.’’

He said there was a noticeable difference in the amount of shellfish in areas protected because access was over private land, compared to places with easy public access.

New Plymouth Sportfishing and Underwater Club president Ian Steele said the club wanted to ensure a sustainable future for coming generations, and members intended to make a submission to the ministry about the proposed ban.

‘‘Our initial view is that given the anecdotal evidence related to pāua, limpets, catseyes and the like, a complete ‘no take’ closure for pāua and the like (at a minimum) is required, and the closure period is used to establish a meaningful plan that will allow good management into the future.’’

However, the club would like crayfish to be managed separately, he said, including bag sizes, spatial requirements and enforcement, rather than being included in the proposed ban, which as it stood would see all diving for crayfish and most potting from boats prohibited.

‘‘The anecdotal evidence is that cray population overall along the coast are the best they have been for decades, although we are aware of spacial conflict and localised depletion seasonally.’’

Full closure of such a large area would displace fishing to areas north and south of the closed area, Steele said.

‘‘If overall management is not considered, we will see the same issues moved along the coastline.’’

‘‘I am also encouraging people to become voluntary fisheries officers, to assist the region’s fulltime fisheries officers.’’ Erin John

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2022-08-13T07:00:00.0000000Z

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https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281509344965273

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