Indigenous freshwater fish amendment bill could led to changes for whitebaiters

Friday, 18 October 2019

The lone white swan checking out a whitebaiter on the Waihopai River. The white swan is a regular visitor.

Southland whitebaiters are unsure what the future of whitebaiting may look like after a new bill was passed in Parliament this week.

The indigenous freshwater fish amendment bill will enable the director-general of conservation to close some reaches of rivers or whole rivers to fishing in conservation areas in two years time.

Conservation minister Eugenie Sage says there will be public consultation before any areas are proposed for closure.

The bill does not affect controls on sports fish.

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The amendment is an important tool in ensuring there are some waterways in New Zealand where native fish can live without the risk of being fished and ending up in a net or a whitebait patty, Sage says.

'That is to help protect those native fish populations, to enable them to thrive, and to ensure that we have a healthy whitebait fishery into the future. So it's changing the law to give our native fish a helping hand for present and future generations.'

Sage says four of the six whitebait species are threatened or at risk of extinction.

The bill has attracted a remarkable degree of public attention, she says.

'I think that underlines how much people value native fish.'

Sage believes the future for New Zealand threatened freshwater fish looks brighter with the passing of the bill.

Some days are better than others for whitebaiter Jim Fletcher as he checks out his catch of the day on the Waihopai River where he has been whitebaiting for the past five years.

'Until now, our freshwater fish legislation has been 20 years out of date. We have lacked effective tools to look after fish spawning areas, ensure that culverts and drains don't block fish passage in rivers and streams, and manage fishing on conservation lands.'

There are 56 species of indigenous freshwater fish in which 70 per cent are threatened or at risk of extinction, she says.

The bill enables the director-general of conservation to introduce authorisation for whitebaiting in conservation areas but changes will not be made in the next two years, she says.

However, some conservation land in Southland - such as Fiordland and Rakiura National Park - already require permission to fish for whitebait.

Whitebaiter Rick Clyma says it is hard to know what the effects of the bill will have on Southland fisheries, as a lot of the operational side will only be implemented later.

As long as whitebaiting isn't banned completely it shouldn't be a concern but they haven't gathered any solid data on the whitebait fisheries, he says.

There needs to be properly collected data to make informed decisions because it had mostly been done by hearsay, he says.

Southland Recreational Whitebaiters Association president Roger McNaughton says it is still unknown how this will affect Southland fisheries.

With the upcoming consultation of whitebaiting regulations, more research needs to be conducted on whitebait numbers, he says.

Good and bad seasons come in cycles and there hasn't been a major decline over the years, McNaughton says.

Invercargill MP and National conservation spokeswoman Sarah Dowie says the proper research needs to be conducted before changes are enforced to freshwater fisheries.

DOC need proper consultation with the whitebaiters who fish the rivers regularly and have an understanding of whitebait numbers, Dowie says.

Department of Conservation policy director Peter Brunt says its 2018 report into understanding whitebait populations shows they have a good enough understanding of habitat and distribution of whitebait populations.

'Our knowledge is sufficient to improve the management of these fish and the fishery.'

Among approximately 2870 survey responses received by DOC in 2018/19, 39 per cent of whitebait fishers reported that their catches had declined in the last decade, Brunt says.

Department of Conservation are set to release a public consultation document containing proposals for whitebait management later in the year.