It’s competition time and the LegaSea team has been attending a raft of events around the country, presenting the FishCare programme and gathering responses to the Crayfish Crisis campaign. In the first seven weeks after the holiday break LegaSea has been involved in activities enabling us to engage with more than 2000 people. The opportunity to talk to this many folk while they are out and about having fun is pure gold. Thanks to everyone for the invitations.

LegaSea doesn’t have the resources to attend every event we are invited to however, we do appreciate the commitment that people have in helping others to understand the need for more fish in the water and a healthy marine environment.

If you have an event coming up please contact us and we will try to get there or send you some material to share with your crew.

Northland
Starting in the far north LegaSea spent two days at the ITM Doubtless Bay Fishing competition talking with contestants and signing people up to the LegaSea cause. This effort was made possible with the help of our long-term volunteer Phil van Loghem, and Si Yates, LegaSea’s Corporate Relations and Fundraising Manager. ITM is a LegaSea Platinum Partner so we were excited to join forces with them and support this local event.

Toll Stadium was this year’s venue for the Ngapuhitanga Festival. Around 400 people engaged with our team throughout the day to learn more about fisheries issues. The FishCare material was of particular interest with its kaitiakitanga (guardianship) message, helping people to care for, and protect, the marine environment for future generations.

Eastern coast
Thanks to our volunteers, the LegaSea Hawkes Bay team, and LegaSea’s FishCare Ambassador Mandy Kupenga we managed to get to six events on the east coast between Auckland and Napier in January and February. Without a doubt, the tide of opinion is turning against depleted fisheries and this is demonstrated by the 3900 Crayfish Campaign surveys completed within the first three weeks of its launch.

Manawatu
Keen advocate Allan Davidson travelled from Wellington to Waitarere Beach up the Manawatu coast to talk with the local fishing club in early February. This was a fantastic opportunity to engage with grassroots fishers and hear their perspectives. The LegaSea message of restoring abundance and providing a better fishing experience for all was well received.

Crayfish Crisis campaign
The Crayfish Campaign video has been a helpful tool in elevating people’s awareness of depletion issues. The feedback from experienced fishers about the state of the fishery is disturbing.  The CRA 2 fishery on the northeast coast is at an all-time low and it is clear that the Minister needs to act decisively to bring it back from the brink. The joint recreational submission sent to MPI in February urges a more precautionary approach be taken when managing all our precious crayfish stocks. Feel free to download the crayfish submission summary here to learn more.