Pāua ban for Kaikōura and Marlborough's east coast could lift for summer

Wednesday, 19 May 2021

The gathering of pāua was banned from Conway River to Marfells Beach following the Kaikōura earthquake in 2016.

The Kaikōura pāua fishery could reopen later this year.

The Kaikōura Marine Guardians have presented a set of recommendations to the Ministry for Primary Industries, including reopening the fishery annually from December 1 to March 1, starting this year.

They suggested making the daily quota three pāua per person, previously it was five per person, and a new minimum legal-size limit of 130 millimetres in shell length for black-foot pāua. It used to be 125mm in shell length.

The recommendations will go out for public feedback, starting on Wednesday and closing on July 5.

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An uplifted section of shoreline around the Kaikōura peninsula. Water used to reach the rock wall and beach before the earthquake.

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The Kaikōura Marine Area extends between the Clarence River in the north and the Conway River in the south, and includes the Kaikōura Peninsula. However, the recommendations extend north to Cape Campbell/Marfells Beach.

Fisheries New Zealand inshore fisheries south manager Allen Frazer said shellfish and seaweed closures were introduced following the 2016 Kaikōura earthquakes, which caused significant seabed uplift along the coast impacting the marine environment, including the popular pāua fishery.

“This is the first time we’ve closed a fishery as a result of an earthquake and since then we’ve undertaken rigorous monitoring and research to track the recovery of pāua over time,” Frazer said.

The research had shown an overall increase in adult and juvenile pāua abundance since the fishery was closed, particularly where there was less uplift.

“Most noticeably is the build-up of large pāua in areas close to shore.”

Other recommendations included a specific measuring and harvest tool for the Kaikōura recreational pāua fishery, and reporting of recreational pāua catch using a smartphone app.

“They’ve [the Guardians] compiled scientific information on [pāua] recovery since the earthquake, and have made some recommendations concluding that it’s feasible for the minister to look at lifting the [pāua] ban at the end of this year,” Frazer said.

A report on the area said sediments were still clouding the nearshore waters in many areas, which reduced primary productivity and, therefore, the amount of food available to small invertebrates and other species in the coastal food web.

It said post-earthquake recruit pāua – those up to about 50mm in shell length – were abundant in many sites where appropriate habitat existed.

“We’ve got really good scientific information on [the fishery’s] recovery. It’s a really great opportunity to think a little bit outside the box and design something that’s really good for the area.”

More information on the proposal could be found at https://www.mpi.govt.nz/consultations/proposal-to-reopen-the-kaikoura-marine-area-to-paua-fishing.