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Bylaws for 3 mātaitai near Timaru

Update – 7 June 2019

The Minister of Fisheries has approved 6 bylaws for the Tuhawaiki, Te Ahi Tarakihi and Waitarakao Mātaitai Reserves near Timaru.

The bylaws close the 2 coastal mātaitai (Tuhawaiki and Te Ahi Tarakihi Mātaitai) to shellfish harvest in general, but allow fishing of pāua, kina and kūtai (mussels) to continue, with reduced daily bag limits of 3 for pāua, 20 for kina, and 50 for kūtai respectively). 

For Te Ahi Tarakihi and Waitarakao Mātaitai Reserves the bylaws reduce the daily bag limit for pātiki (flatfish) to 10.

The bylaws come into effect on 24 June 2019.

Decision briefing [PDF, 417 KB]

Check the bylaws – the New Zealand Gazette

Have your say

The tangata tiaki/kaitiaki of the Tuhawaiki Mātaitai, Te Ahi Tarkihi Mātaitai and Waitarakao Mātaitai have provided Fisheries New Zealand with draft bylaws for their reserves. 

They are proposing:

  • a prohibition on harvesting all shellfish stocks (other than pāua, kina and mussels) from the Tuhawaiki and Te Ahi Tarakihi Mātaitai
  • a daily bag limit within the Tuhawaiki and Te Ahi Tarakihi Mātaitai of:
    • 3 pāua
    • 20 kina
    • 50 kūtai (mussels)
  • a daily bag limit of 10 flatfish within the Waitarakao Mātaitai and the Te Ahi Tarakihi Mātaitai.

You're invited to provide feedback on the proposed bylaws outlined in the consultation document. Consultation is open from 23 November 2018 to 5pm on Friday 21 December 2018.  

Map of the Tuhawaiki Mātaitai Reserve, Te Ahi Tarakihi Mātaitai and the Waitarakao Mātaitai [PDF, 4.4 MB]

Consultation document

Making your submission

Submissions on the proposed bylaws close at 5pm on Friday 21 December 2018.

Email your submission, with 'Mātaitai bylaws proposal' in the subject line, to FMSubmissions@mpi.govt.nz

While we prefer email, you can post your submission to:

Manager Inshore Fisheries
Ministry for Primary Industries
Private Bag 1926
Dunedin 9054.

Make sure you tell us in your submission:

  • the title of the consultation document
  • your name and title
  • your organisation's name (if you are submitting on behalf of an organisation, and whether your submission represents the whole organisation or a section of it)
  • your contact details (such as phone number, address, and email).

Submissions are public information

Note, that any submission you make becomes public information. People can ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we have to make submissions available unless we have a good reason for withholding it.  That is explained in sections 6 and 9 of the OIA.

Tell us if you think there are grounds to withhold specific information in your submission. Reasons might include that it's commercially sensitive or it's personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold information can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may tell us to release it.

After submissions close

Once tangata tiaki/kaitiaki have considered any submissions made, they will finalise the proposed bylaws. They will then ask for approval from the Minister of Fisheries.

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