August 23, 2021
With level 4 lockdown upon us again, The Kai Ika Project is once again stepping up to distribute kaimoana to whanau in need. Last year we distributed over 55 tonnes of previously unwanted kaimoana. Multiple lockdowns didn’t stop us then nor will it stop us now! Lockdown makes the logistics of food distribution very difficult […]
August 13, 2021
It’s been a busy period for our fisheries management team, with 12 fisheries up for review in the past two months. Public submissions have now closed, and if you were one of the thousands who had your say in support of more fish in the water – Thanks a bunch!
August 12, 2021
Commercial fishers who flagrantly dredged scallop beds while flying a pirate flag have undone the good work of communities who have tried to save the beds by observing a rahui. In December 2020, a voluntary rāhui was laid on the eastern Coromandel coastline to protect dwindling numbers of scallops from dredging and overharvest. In February […]
August 10, 2021
LegaSea is looking forward to talking about local issues with the Coromandel community at the upcoming Tairua Boat Show in mid-August. There is so much to discuss including Opito Bay scallops, the Ngāti Hei rāhui across the eastern coastline, and the ongoing struggle to ban trawling and dredging in the Hauraki Gulf. It was pleasing […]
July 26, 2021
Peter van Eekelen is the President of the Pegasus Bay Gamefishing Club, Canterbury. Q. What’s the problem? A. Blue cod is an iconic fishery providing for the social, economic and cultural wellbeing of thousands of South Islanders. There are around 35,000 people who fish for recreation and food off the east coast of the South […]
July 24, 2021
Back in the 90s when the Snapper 8 fishery was in deep trouble, recreational fishers voluntarily contributed efforts that would help bring back more snapper in the water. The first recreational daily bag limit set in 1985 was 30 per person per day, now it’s 10. In 1995, local west coast recreational fishers wanted to […]
July 23, 2021
Snapper stocks out west of the North Island have rebuilt to an abundance level beyond most people’s living memory. Fisheries New Zealand (FNZ) has proposed catch increases for commercial fishers, an increase to the overall allowances for recreational and Māori customary fishing interests, and no changes to recreational bag or size limits. Submissions are due […]
July 20, 2021
After 33 years of rebuilding, the Snapper 8 (SNA 8) fishery is finally in good shape, reaching an estimated biomass of 54% of the original population size. Fisheries NZ is proposing four potential options to increase the Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) of 1300 tonnes. They propose to increase the TACC by either 25, 50, 75 or 100%. More commercial fishing in Snapper 8 means more bottom trawling, and this could jeopardise the recovery of snapper. LegaSea is supporting Option Zero. No TACC increase.
July 15, 2021
Local Hauraki Gulf communities are left feeling unheard after the Government has decided to take a cherry-picking approach in protecting and enhancing the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. We are disappointed by the recent changes proposed in the Government (Revitalising the Gulf) response to the Sea Change plan which includes decisions which will only protect pockets […]
July 7, 2021
Trawling and its effects on fish, people and future livelihoods has been a subject of debate for more than a century. A succession of Ministers have heard submissions, held meetings, drawn lines on maps and even established a commission of inquiry in 1918, yet we still have bottom trawling in many productive nursery grounds. Even […]
