Undersized fishing a big issue for North Islanders

Saturday, 24 March 2018

An Auckland fisherman with a legal sized Snapper he caught from one of the city's wharves.

The record summer heat and rise in sea temperatures around New Zealand resulted in a bountiful fishing season.

However, data obtained under the Official Information Act showed more than 5200 infringement notices or court-imposed fines were issued nationally over the past three years for undersized fishing.

Baby snapper fishing off Devonport wharf has one resident concerned for New Zealand's fishing standards.

Acting manager for fisheries compliance Jacob Hore said his team received lots of calls over the summer.

'Wharf fishing is a very small part of the recreational fishing sector. But offending is offending and, if we can catch people, we will,' he said.

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Wharf fishing is a popular sport. In Murrays Bay, bait boards have been installed on the wharf.

Fishermen are angry about sightings of undersized fish being put in buckets by wharf fishers, saying officials are failing to respond to the problem.

In February, Devonport resident Graeme Taylor claims he saw a man with a baby snapper on the end of his line about to throw it into a bucket 'filled' with undersized fish.

'I asked him, 'Are you going to throw it back?',' Taylor said. 'But he got very threatening.'

Taylor said he rang officials to complain but was told that, due to being understaffed, it was hard to get to all the complaints.

The OIA data showed there were currently only 93 full-time Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) fishery officers scouring the country's coastal fishing spots. The majority of whom were in Auckland.

Hore's advice to the public was to provide as much information as possible, as vagueness could be the difference between attending a reported incident or not.

MPI offered brochures in several languages, as well as a free NZ Fishing Rules app for Apple and Android devices.

What to do:

Members of the public should call the MPI poaching line on: 0800 POACHER (762 2437).