Thread: Eugenie Sage wants to Ban Whitebaiting

Originally Posted by berg243

i read an article by a scientist that said fishing restrictions wont help the whitebait but habitat protection and enhancement will even with the current fishing regs and season length which wont fit well with Herr sage and her cronies. the 3 parties of col need voted out of the beehive otherwise this country is doomed and it wont be in our kids time it will be in our time.

Totally agree. However the current spotlight on Whitebait does give us the opportunity to reform and regulate the recreational fishery. For example there are blokes on sickness benefits (bad backs) who Hog the front net positions at the Waimak south side, sleep at the mouth and swap over in shifts so the position is held 24 hrs for three months - unless a big flood sends all home. Then when Dad grabs the kids and heads down to the river after work there is no bait around - all caught at the mouth

I would not support a total ban, however I would fully support a ban on commercial fishing. Its the only species in NZ that anyone can sell, many exploit this. You can't sell trout and salmon, all sea fish and fresh water eels have a quota system attached, you need an special license or some such for wild game. Whitebait is the odd one out.

I'd agree with restriction on a recreational take, a "bag limited" if you will. This should be on a waterway by waterway basis, much the same as trout takes are different depending on the productivity/popularity of a river.

However, habiatat loss and water quality are the biggest issues and clearly need addressing nationwide.

So there’s no license fee? Yet you can sell them?
That seems to make zero sense

just been on one news....meeting on west coast with MPs present. Eugene came on after blaming national for stirring the pot over a non issue........hmmmm verdict is still out on this one.

IF they decide to regulate it just WHO do they propose will police it????

The new wanabe/volunteer cops.

Originally Posted by Tahr

Good. No one in this thread except Boaraxa seems to acknowledged that maybe there is a problem with the 'baits and that the take might not be sustainable? I don't know - but maybe they are under threat - the research seems to be saying so? Maybe a way of life and the 'baits can be saved? If so, what are we prepared to do about it or accept? Beating up on Sage won't change a thing for whitebait. Won't change her either.

It'll end up being like north Atlantic cod. Going from so many you whack a basket overboard and lift it out full of cod to bugger all after a long moratorium.

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

As the habitat on the coast is close to pristine, the whitebait are safe. All that needs happen is to make sure that the habitat stays in good shape.
The Coast acts as a spawning reserve for other areas too. A bad season on the Coast often is caused by ocean currents taking the juveniles north and can also often mean a good season on the Motueka River as they come in there. There have been some tremendous seasons in Canterbury in the last few years, seasons which common sense tells us are far beyond what the local breeding population and spawning capacity could produce - seasons where individuals have caught 80 kg in a day - these seasons have coincided with a strong continuous Southerly drift, which suggests that the bait probably hatched from Southland

See that's the issue. People catching far more than they need to have some fritters (which to me seemed like fishy omelette) and then selling them off.

It is completely ridiculous that this is one of the only unregulated fisheries in NZ. It needs to be regulated despite whether it is in a healthy state or not.

Originally Posted by 300wsm for life

It is completely ridiculous that this is one of the only unregulated fisheries in NZ. It needs to be regulated despite whether it is in a healthy state or not.

Is the labour or green party recruiting?

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Not at all. Have never voted Green or Labour. Didn't say I agreed that it needs to be band just managed. I don't understand how the fishery can be caught and sold commercially and not be under the QMS. It is a sure way to destroy it. I would like to people be able to Fish for whitebait 20yrs from now. How long do you think it can be sustained without some form of management?

Originally Posted by 300wsm for life

Not at all. Have never voted Green or Labour. Didn't say I agreed that it needs to be band just managed. I don't understand how the fishery can be caught and sold commercially and not be under the QMS. It is a sure way to destroy it. I would like to people be able to Fish for whitebait 20yrs from now. How long do you think it can be sustained without some form of management?

Apart from rules and a season length it has been sustainable and survived for nearly 200 yrs till now. Longer if Maori harvested it before European settlement.



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You could use that argument for just about anything. The reality is that it may be healthy now but who knows what the future will bring for whitebait. Management now will at least go some way to protecting for future generations. Look at all the restrictions on cod, scollops etc. The Paua divers around our way have taken a voluntary cut because of lower stock numbers. Quota management is about having fish for future generations.

52lb a season means a lb a week to eat.......... that would be a great season for some and a poor morning for others. IF a total take per person per season was set of say????100lb/50kgs???? and anyone caught buying or selling was hit with say a minimum fine of 20k the commercial side of it would die overnight.the overall take would HAVE to drop...the big commercial stands would be dormant after a couple of days so another person who doesnt know the ins n outs of it could fish it,again only for day or two...BUT policing it would be a nightmare. you couldnt have a freezer full but how to proove over fishing would be hard to police.

Originally Posted by 300wsm for life

You could use that argument for just about anything. The reality is that it may be healthy now but who knows what the future will bring for whitebait. Management now will at least go some way to protecting for future generations. Look at all the restrictions on cod, scollops etc. The Paua divers around our way have taken a voluntary cut because of lower stock numbers. Quota management is about having fish for future generations.

You sound like a politician.
I have nothing against a well thought out and reasonable form of managment. Stated as much earlier in this thread.
But why now all of a sudden?
Just about everything I and many other outdoor types enjoy doing has been attacked in the last 2 years by a bunch of incompetent paper punching delinquents that have no idea what they are doing. They have even banned me from having things I have always had and used responsibly.
I see no rush to regulate whitebaiting but for some reason it has become one.




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R93 mate...you have answered your own question.... bunch of paper punching deliquents have been in POWER for 2 years and its still pulsing through thier colletive veins almost as fast as the whacky backy they smoke.

I farm salmon in the Marlborough Sounds. I'm not sure why the greens/Labour have brought this up now. As for myself I have always believed that whitebait is a precious resource that needs managing. There has been a lot of attacks on our way of life recently and it's crap.