Thread: A one day fishing season...just imagine

Sometimes I hear people say "I wish our Fish & Game management was like it is in the states..."
My response is always "Really, you want to have one week a year that you can shoot one deer and pay $200 for the opportunity to do so??"
It's a supply/demand problem...with 350 million people and managing for everyone to have access to the resource, be it fish or game.
Most of my experience is with the Columbia River, where a return of 250,000 salmon is a shitty run because the catchment has 10 million people in it, enough said.

Finally, my point...the new Sturgeon year opens January 1st every year. There's a quota and once that quota is met the fishing year is basically over, at least for keeping a fish.
So what happened? Well, everyone showed up at 0430 New Years day to fish in 5 degree weather because that would be their only chance at keeping a fish this year. They were right and now there will be no keeping of a sturgeon for 364 days..at which point they'll do it all again. I'm very happy to be here brothers.

God bless NZ

It is an issue of supply/demand. I just wish there was more appreciation of the game animals and fish that we have in the wider community.

Whatever…. And who’s to blame for that….. I regularly fish out of chinook landing… fisherman’s …42st…willamette….. etc etc….. have no problems catching fish…. The sturgeon fishing issue has been like that for years….commercial fishers have fucked that deal ,and they’re doing it with the salmon….. we are having those issues in kiwi…PERIOD….!!!

Went fishing yesterday,mana island…. Pannie size snapper nothing very big…. When I was a kid we used to catch big bassturds half way between mana and titahi bay beach….. not like that anymore….

Fished girabaldi last sept/oct… took our limit of salmon in 40 minutes…. Good runs bad runs… we live with that

If there is one thing to be concerned about ,it’s farmed salmon mixing with wild salmon ,a huge issue indeed

If you take the time to read about the sturgeon life cycle ,breeding etc etc not only is it complex but long,and the thrashing they have taken over the years by commercial fishing seasons ,then it’s a no wonder the state the yanks are in and why the heavy restrictions!!!

Hey buddy. I was a fish biologist on the Columbia working 90% with salmonids for almost 20 years. Did a lot of groundfish surveys from Canada to Mexico as well so some ocean and bubble fishery research as well. Used to fish my arse off too. I just thought I’d point out some differences in management when there’s so much harvest pressure on a fishery, that’s all.

How about pointing out the history of why it’s got like it is…. My sons wife is a biologist for the state of Oregon working probably the same areas as you… your not the only one here that has the info on this… buddy

Originally Posted by A330driver

How about pointing out the history of why it’s got like it is…. My sons wife is a biologist for the state of Oregon working probably the same areas as you… your not the only one here that has the info on this… buddy

I think the OPer is just trying to point out that they do have some expertise in this matter and he is not making statements based on what some relative once told them over dinner.

Just the opposite…. I would tell they (the yanks) have got a lot of it right… a lot wrong,by their own admission…. NZ fisheries have been in their own quagmire for many years itself…. Supply and demand yes…..we in kiwi see clowns taking 300-400 paua all undersized.,many other instances of overfishing,look at the camera on boats issue and the cluster that has become

I would agree with most of his pist….what sets me us that it’s been like that for years…..and many will tell you that it was the state,ifs biologists and those in charge have gotten wrong for years which has led to the situation they finds themselves in

The commercial fisheries get to pound the stocks they are so eager to protect … your average bloke going for a fish hardly dents the stocks and yet they take it in the arse for what they can take and have to pay… point noted ….

As for the casual conversation over dinner??… nah…. Spent many years flying biologists/fish counters ,people of that ilk to actually see what they did and interpret that info they gathered…. ..I’ll leave it at that

I believe it would make things easier if you went to Settings> under My Settings> under My Account> Edit Ignore List…you can add my user name and I believe you will never see another post I make. This will be the last time I respond to you.

I don’t think Kiwi is that far off the style of fish mgmt that the yanks have … I believe we are getting closer to it day by day and not because of local fishing .. but by the demand of outside sources that are pounding all the stocks of fish…. We already have quotas,we are already taking pages out of their books

Originally Posted by A330driver

Just the opposite…. I would tell they (the yanks) have got a lot of it right… a lot wrong,by their own admission…. NZ fisheries have been in their own quagmire for many years itself…. Supply and demand yes…..we in kiwi see clowns taking 300-400 paua all undersized.,many other instances of overfishing,look at the camera on boats issue and the cluster that has become

I would agree with most of his pist….what sets me us that it’s been like that for years…..and many will tell you that it was the state,ifs biologists and those in charge have gotten wrong for years which has led to the situation they finds themselves in

The commercial fisheries get to pound the stocks they are so eager to protect … your average bloke going for a fish hardly dents the stocks and yet they take it in the arse for what they can take and have to pay… point noted ….

As for the casual conversation over dinner??… nah…. Spent many years flying biologists/fish counters ,people of that ilk to actually see what they did and interpret that info they gathered…. ..I’ll leave it at that

OK. So you are saying you obtained your vast knowledge by learning off people like Joe Schmo?
Thats ironic

Guys PLEASE step away from keyboard.go have a cup of coffee, tea,chamomile.... Come back and re-read entire thread three times... I firmly believe you are BOTH on same page,just can't see it for red mist over your eyes from mis read comment. WE ALL want to see fish n animals harvested responsibily and we all want them managed better.

A330 is just an antagonist at heart. Joe just ignore him mate

I'm not sure compliance with fishing seasons in nz would be great

Well we do have a pāua season , down the Kaikoura coast. Apart from the odd selfish person / poacher it goes pretty well.

The thing that raises eye brows, is the amateur fisherman are on a 2 month season 3 pāua limit ,whilst the commercial crews are allowed to harvest at will.
Yip that said the commercial crews are diving out wide and away from easily accessed grounds, but bio mass is what is required to spawn and rebuild a fishery.
That’s where my argument starts.

Our top of the south scallop fishery is in tatters, we haven’t seen a season for over 8 years, it once was so abundant in the 1990’s / early 2000 tows were drop your dredge crack a can , two mouthfuls , and haul it up again . 50 per person.

The beds used to bed seeded after harvest by the commercial , but once the money ran out so did the seeding. Plus seeding beds in Tasman Bay over soft mud , forestry run off , over fishing by amateurs ( myself included ) taking 300 a weekend every weekend , charter boats loading up 20 folks and dragging up a 1000 a trip.

We all stand in a circle blaming each other but no one is offering a solution.

Our fresh water fishery ( Nelson lakes ) has different problem with other parts of the community anti releasing/ stocking our national park lakes, so we have a truely exceptional fishery now in decline.

Then I look at the hydro canals, is it the perfect set up? cold clean water and plenty of food growing huge fish.

Finally I look at the Tasman Bay snapper fishery, from its death in the 70’s to a slow rebuild throughout my life to the epic fishery it is now ( but so very fragile )
It could be so easily be ruined by over fishing by amateur/ commercial greed or just a couple of years of bad recruitment.


Im far from any kind of expert, actually way far …but it not ever one thing that fucks a fishery ..death by a thousand cuts comes to mind.