New Zealand Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton has announced a new rule that will ban commercial fishers from leaving set nets exposed at low tide on the Kaipara Harbour.
Stalling of set nets, where a net is set so that when the tide falls; the net and any fish in it are left trapped and exposed, is banned in all areas of New Zealand except for the Kaipara Harbour, where commercial fishers were exempted, because of the large size of the Kaipara mud flats and the boats used by commercial fishers being very slow.
Boats used by fishers now are much faster, and the set nets in use and method of fishing have changed.
Jim Anderton said there was no longer any justifiable reason why commercial fishers should be able to stall nets in the Kaipara Harbour when they cannot stall their nets in other harbours with extensive mud flats, such as the Manukau.
Stalling of nets leads to fish wastage as caught fish are unlikely to survive being exposed and may become spoiled in the sun. This means that target fish are not fit for sale and undersize and non-target bycatch fish cannot be released alive.
“This wastage of fish is not good for the sustainability of fish stocks. Prohibiting stalling of set nets in the Kaipara should reduce wastage and help improve sustainability.”
The penalty for commercial fishers caught stalling set nets is a fine of up to $100,000.
NZ bans fishers from leaving set nets exposed at low tide
New Zealand Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton has announced a new rule that will ban commercial fishers from leaving set nets exposed at low tide on the Kaipara Harbour.
Stalling of set nets, where a net is set so that when the tide falls; the net and any fish in it are left trapped and exposed, is banned in all areas of New Zealand except for the Kaipara Harbour, where commercial fishers were exempted, because of the large size of the Kaipara mud flats and the boats used by commercial fishers being very slow.
Boats used by fishers now are much faster, and the set nets in use and method of fishing have changed.
Jim Anderton said there was no longer any justifiable reason why commercial fishers should be able to stall nets in the Kaipara Harbour when they cannot stall their nets in other harbours with extensive mud flats, such as the Manukau.
Stalling of nets leads to fish wastage as caught fish are unlikely to survive being exposed and may become spoiled in the sun. This means that target fish are not fit for sale and undersize and non-target bycatch fish cannot be released alive.
“This wastage of fish is not good for the sustainability of fish stocks. Prohibiting stalling of set nets in the Kaipara should reduce wastage and help improve sustainability.”
The penalty for commercial fishers caught stalling set nets is a fine of up to $100,000.
