By ANNE BESTON
To most New Zealanders, the thought of having to pack a fishing licence along with the rods and thermos is a bit like asking them to pay an entrance fee at the beach.
Kiwis regard their right to cast a line from a jetty, boat or rockface as almost sacrosanct.
New Zealand Recreational Fishing Council chairman Steve Penn is well aware of that point of view.
"We have this attitude that it's our God-given right to go fishing, and there's nothing wrong with that.
"But in this day and age we have to make sure we have a fishery out there to exercise that God-given right over."
Mr Penn and fellow council member Keith Ingram have been working with the Ministry of Fisheries for two years, discussing changes to recreational fishing.
The result is Soundings, a 50-page discussion document outlining options for managing recreational fishing.
Among those options is licensing.
"We are not looking for a scrap, but I know there are fishers out there who are already saying, 'Like hell you're going to make us pay for a licence'," said Mr Penn.
"The [Recreational Fishing Council] does not support licensing, but some fishers will think we're trying to bulldoze them."
Fishing ranks with walking, gardening and swimming as popular physical activities for New Zealanders.
About one in four people go fishing or gather shellfish in any year.
A 1999 survey estimated New Zealand recreational anglers spent nearly $1 billion a year catching species such as snapper, king fish, blue cod, kahawai and rock lobster.
The report, by the South Australian Centre for Economic Studies, says New Zealanders are willing to pay $73.16 a kilogram to catch rock lobster (around $55 at the fish shop) and $31 a kilo for snapper ($23/kg in the shop).
The total value of the recreational catch is estimated at $219 million.
Fishers like Mr Penn and Mr Ingram believe it's time recreational fishers got involved in looking after that asset.
Soundings outlines three options: the status quo, proportional share, and recreational management.
Proportional share would mean setting a catch limit for recreational fishers. That would give them a definite stake in the fishery supported by the ministry.
In some fish stocks, it could mean recreational fishing would be given a bigger share than commercial fishing, if a case could be made for it.
On the downside, fishing groups would have to be prepared to lobby effectively for their share and risk getting that share cut if fish numbers dropped.
The third option, and the most controversial, involves setting up local and national fishing associations so fishers manage the recreational fishery. The problem is, how do you do it?
"That's the $64,000 question," says Keith Ingram.
"One of our major problems is the apathy of recreational fishers."
The upside of management by fishers would mean they could recommend daily bag limits or liaise with the commercial industry to resolve disputes in a particular fishery.
The downside is that getting organised takes money - that's where the licence fee comes in. But not everyone is opposed.
"I think it's an unfortunate necessity," says charter boat operator Eugen de Bruyn. "There has to be more policing out there and the only way to do that is to issue a licence with the rules on it and put more fishery officers out on the water. In the eight years I've been doing this, I've seen two fishery officers twice. That's just ridiculous."
The council is at pains to point out that Soundings is a discussion document only. They want recreational fishers to come up with the final decisions through a series of public meetings to be advertised in newspapers from tomorrow.
But already there's a snag.
The Herald understands just $150,000 has been budgeted for the consultation process, an amount described as "pitiful" by at least one fisher, who pointed out the Government spent millions on proposed changes to both the customary and commercial fishing sectors.
Whatever the final result, Mr Ingram expects "some interesting times" on the horizon.
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