Fishery officers throughout New Zealand did almost 13,000 recreational catch inspections over summer and found most people followed the rules, with compliance at about 94% across the country.
In the Auckland region, fishery officers did 5,806 inspections between December and the end of February, finding 361 instances of non-compliance with the rules. Many fishers received warnings and more than 85 infringements were issued. Fishery officers are still making enquiries into more than 25 cases.
Fisheries New Zealand director of fisheries compliance, Steve Ham says most problems people ran into with the rules – such as undersize or excess fish – when minor breaches were found, education was provided.
"In saying that we will prosecute when required. For example, we recently prosecuted an Auckland man for selling recreational fish. This man was banned by the court from all fishing for 3 years."
Mr Ham says set nets remain a focus for fishery officers.
"We are confiscating illegal set nets regularly. Recently we found 3 set nets tied together, covering 160 metres in length.
"Some fishers are just blatantly breaking the rules and while most people will face a $250 fine, in more serious situations, the courts can issue more severe fines."
Fishery officers also find nets without markings or buoys displaying contact details, which are also a hazard to other water users.
Some of the seizures by fishery officers included finding a car battery being used as an anchor for a set net, which is environmentally irresponsible, a decoy duck used to hide a set net, and staked set nets leaving fish dead and out of the water.
In the Wellington region, 2,435 recreational inspections were done, with 192 instances of non-compliance. Most problems occurred with people taking too much or undersize pāua and crayfish. While a number of cases are still under enquiry, fishery officers also issued about 100 infringement notices.
"While compliance was generally good, our fishery officers are still catching people breaking particularly the pāua rules. While our officers do a lot of education work with people on the rules, in some cases, where people are deliberately taking too much pāua, they can expect a fine. Or, if it’s more serious, such as selling it, we will put the matter before the court," Mr Ham says.
In the South Island, fishery officers did 4,488 recreational inspections during summer, recording 261 instances of non-compliance. Many of these resulted in warnings, and 93 infringements were issued. Fishery officers are still making enquiries into about 25 cases.
"Fishery officers worked extremely hard throughout summer and while they provided education to a lot of people on rules, they still found too many people with too much pāua, crayfish, and undersize blue cod or blue cod being landed in an illegal state," Mr Ham says.
"Blue cod should always be landed whole or gutted, or in some areas headed and gutted, and it should never be used as bait, which we have found is still the case in both Southland and Otago from time to time. This behaviour threatens the sustainability of the blue cod fisheries.
"There is plenty of information available so that everyone can easily familiarise themselves with the rules.
"One of the best things you can do before going fishing is to download the free NZ Fishing Rules mobile app because it will provide you with the latest rules for the area you intend to fish – including closures and gear restrictions. This should be as essential to your fishing kit as your physical gear," Mr Ham says.
Everything recreational fishers need to know about set netting regulations can be found here:
Set Net – Code of Practice [PDF, 22 MB]
We encourage people to report any suspected illegal activity through the Ministry for Primary Industries’ 0800 4 POACHER line (0800 476 224).
