LegaSea

Kia ora Friend,

As international awareness for the plight of our ocean grows, local communities are taking action. We've seen a raft of communities joining forces and placing rāhui (temporary closures) around the coastline. Supporting these efforts has meant a busy start to the year for the LegaSea crew. We have also seen some topical and timely documentaries aired. In case you missed them:

1. Over Easter, the popular documentary 'The Price of Fish' aired again on TV3. Produced by well known local filmmaker Mike Bhana, The Price of Fish highlights the failings of New Zealand's Quota Management System. Click here to watch it on YouTube.

2. Seaspiracy playing on Netflix. This doco has engaged the public with shocking statistics around the privatisation of fisheries and the destruction caused by industrial fishing on the global marine ecosystem.

The reality, New Zealand's Quota Management System continues to allow destructive fishing techniques and overharvesting of wild fish. The good news, we have a solution: Rescue Fish - Ika Rauora. This alternative to the QMS seeks to outlaw destructive fishing techniques, while increasing fish numbers and protecting our ocean for future generations.

Support Ngāti Hei & the ban of scallop dredging

In December 2020, Ngāti Hei applied a rāhui banning the harvest of scallops from Opito Bay, eastern Coromandel. The rāhui has been well supported by the community who are keen to see the ban extended to other areas.

Ngāti Hei is now seeking Ministerial approval for a formal 2-year closure under section 186A of the Fisheries Act.

The closure would apply to commercial, recreational and customary fisheries along the Coromandel coast including Repanga/Cuvier, Ahuahu/Great Mercury, Ohinau, the Alderman and Whakahau/Slipper Islands (see map).

LegaSea has worked with Ngati Hei and the community since last year to develop the Coromandel Scallop Restoration Programme. Now is the perfect opportunity to start planning for the long-term management of scallops.

You can help support this effort to ban destructive dredging, to rebuild scallop numbers and encourage dive-only gathering when the fishery reopens. We strongly encourage you and your friends to make a submission - All you have to do is write a sentence stating you support the closure. Submit your views here.

To make this rahui a reality we need to show the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans that we all want this. Find out more about making a submission here or simply email a statement of support to FMSubmissions@mpi.govt.nz

Eye on Nature

Educating the next generation is an important component of LegaSea's mission so the opportunity to attend this year's Eye On Nature event in mid-March to talk with hundreds of school age children from south Auckland was a must-do.

Over several days our team was privileged to talk about different fish species, fishing, and the environmental impacts of fishing in New Zealand.

Even more exciting was the opportunity to introduce our latest initiative, the Hī Ika (Go Fish) card game that is both fun and an educational tool. At the end of each session each child received a free pack to take home and share with their family.

We would like to thank The Bobby Stafford-Bush Foundation for sponsoring the Hī Ika card game and supporting us in educating children about how to better care for our ocean.

Reel questions with Tom Hishon

"I'd say my most earliest memory would be gathering pipi's from a local beach close to our home. Purging them in a bucket of fresh water, throwing a weet-bix to remove the sand was probably what made the memory stick in my mind as well as the smell of barbequed shellfish, sweet oceany brine and chewy texture."

Tom Hishon is the Executive Chef and co-founder of kingi, a sustainable seafood restaurant in downtown Auckland that focuses on supporting independent fishers from around New Zealand.

Read his Reel Questions interview here.

Mixed decisions from fish stock reviews

David Parker has released his first major management decisions for fish stocks since taking on the role of Minister of Oceans and Fisheries.

Over the summer, our NZ Sport Fishing Council fisheries team put a lot of effort into responding to a raft of proposals. The Minister has acted conservatively in terms of packhorse crayfish nationally, and for red rock lobster around Gisborne and at the top of the South Island. The outcome is a mixed bag for flounder, elephant fish and yellow-eyed mullet.

Crayfish
As part of the red rock lobster reviews, in area CRA 1 off the Northland coast we submitted in support of catch limit reductions. The Minister chose instead to retain all catch limits as he was advised there is no substantial threat to the Northland population. However, a large portion of commercial crayfish catch is in this area and nationally red rock lobster populations are in decline.

We continue to advocate that the Minister must remove all concessions that allow commercial fishers to take male crayfish with tail widths smaller than the minimum legal size for recreational catch. These concessions apply to crayfish catch taken around Gisborne, Otago and Southland. While our submission was ignored by the Minister we will continue to argue for fairness and improved management of our taonga [treasure] species.

The big win for us is in the future management of packhorse rock lobster stocks around New Zealand. Stocks are increasing in Northland. Packhorse fill niches where there are red rock lobster declines. Catches of packhorse crayfish are becoming more common so the Minister has applied a conservative increase to the commercial catch limit while also agreeing to set aside adequate allowances for both Maori customary and recreational fishing interests.

Read all of our crayfish submissions here.

Flatfish
Management of flatfish combines 8 species of flounder, sole, brill and turbot. In the FLA 2 area, which wraps around the lower west and east coast of the North Island, trawling is common. There has been a long term decline in commercial catch landings. We submitted in support of lower catch limits. The Minister decided to lower the catches significantly, which is positive. Read our submission here.

We also submitted in response to proposals for the future management of elephant fish on the west coast of the upper South Island and yellow eyed mullet on the northwest coast of the North Island.

In response to ongoing concerns about declines in shellfish numbers, the Minister has decided to ban recreational harvest of intertidal shellfish in Cockle Bay, Auckland for three years. This is a drastic measure available to the Minister under section 11 of the Fisheries Act.

Something to watch

Seaspiracy, currently available on Netflix has engaged people worldwide in raising awareness about the state of our marine environment and the impacts of industrial fishing.

In New Zealand we are lucky to have your support in promoting the need for healthy and abundant fisheries. Thank you.

Some of the film's assertions are a stretch, but the film does a great job in amplifying the major concerns related to the health of our oceans.

Our oceans need better protection. We need to ban destructive fishing techniques in sensitive inshore waters. We also need to encourage innovation in the development of low impact fishing methods.

Ngā mihi

Trish and the LegaSea crew

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