Southland whitebaiter pleased ‘heavy-handed’ regulations scaled back

Wednesday, 2 June 2021

A Southland whitebaiting representative is pleased the Government has ditched a “heavy-handed” approach in its quest to protect whitebait numbers.

Early last year the Department of Conservation proposed changes as part of its Improving Whitebait Management discussion document.

Adult populations of four of the six species of fish that make up whitebait fishery are threatened or at risk of extinction, the documents says.

It suggested banning exports, restricting the equipment used, limiting upstream fishing, reducing the length of the season, and closing some rivers for up to 10 years, all be looked at to help protect whitebait numbers.

**READ MORE:

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* Indigenous freshwater fish amendment bill could led to changes for whitebaiters

**

Acting Minister of Conservation Dr Ayesha Verrall released changes to regulations on Wednesday for the 2021, 2022, and 2023 whitebaiting seasons.

Southland Recreational Whitebaiters Association president Roger McNaughton was happy the proposed 'extremely harsh’’ changes did not go ahead in their entirety.

“It could have been much worse,” he said.

The proposed ban of sock nets was particularly concerning for Southland whitebaiters, but that has not eventuated.

From 2022 the whitebaiting season will be shortened. It traditionally runs from August 15 through to November 30, but from next year it will start on September 1 and go through to October 30.

McNaughton said that was something he and most other members were comfortable with.

From this season the maximum length for screens when whitebaiting will be three metres. That was something McNaughton was keen to get some more clarification on.

The biggest disappointment for McNaughton was that the changes did not address commercial whitebait take.

He said commercial whitebaiters took plenty of whitebait, and he felt restrictions on them could have helped in the push to protect whitebait numbers.

The possibility of banning exports was also discussed through the submission process, but that also was not included in the changes.

Verrall, who has stepped for Kiri Allan as Minister of Conservation, felt the changes announced on Wednesday would improve the sustainability of threatened species.

They would also ensure that New Zealanders can continue the tradition of “catching a feed” in their local river, she said.

“Whitebait regulations haven’t been reviewed since the 1990s, and changes are long overdue,” Verrall said.

However, Green Party conservation spokesperson Eugenie Sage said the changes need to go further and happen faster to “protect our native taonga”.

Sage was the Minister of Conservation last year when the Department of Conservation's Improving Whitebait Management discussion document was debated.

“The Greens are disappointed the Government has progressed so few of the original DOC proposals for a range of whitebait refuges to protect vulnerable whitebait species,” Sage said.

Forest & Bird also believe the whitebait regulation changes have not gone far enough.

“The changes…. are fluff around the edges. They won’t bring back native fish from breaking point,” Forest & Bird freshwater advocate Annabeth Cohen said.