Two Hawke's Bay MPs may push for a marine reserve on the Bay's coastline to protect the inshore recreational fishery.
The two are Labour MPs Stuart Nash (Napier) and Meka Whaitiri (Ikaroa Rawhiti) who have met concerned fishers to discuss a situation which has since been highlighted by a Kahawai Surfcasting competition in which just 15 qualifying fish were landed, an average of one for every 30 rods. Recreational fishers were particularly concerned about what has been referred to as the "rape" and "plundering" of inshore stock by commercial vessels, and fear nothing will be left if the vessels continue to invade the territory close to shore.
The MPs this week echoed the worries, Mr Nash saying that fishing clubs had "heaps of details" about depleting catches, and that the Ministry for Primary Industries needed to act to save recreational fishing, which was "part of the Hawke's Bay DNA".
"It needs to be addressed very urgently," he said, adding he hoped to reconvene a meeting of interested parties.
Clifton resident and recreational fisherman Peter McIntyre believes the trawlers creeping closer and closer to the shore to snag their catch are causing irreversible damage to the seabed.
"I remember three years ago, back then, at least you could catch a fish. Now it's just bloody sting-rays."
He said the trawlers near Cape Kidnappers appeared to be "thumbing their noses at the authority".
"I haven't seen someone catch a decent fish here in weeks ... only a couple of years ago you could just about guarantee a fish within an hour.
"Anybody who is not a fishing person wouldn't be aware of what's going on ... it's going to get a lot worse - until there is almost nothing left - before it gets better, it's a crying shame."
Vessels under 46m which are based in New Zealand have no restriction on how close they can fish to the coast, as long as they are not fishing in a closed area.
A closed area might be a marine reserve, an area where there is some form of recreational or customary tool to exclude commercial fishing, or a cable protection zone.
Following a Hawke's Bay Today report that the Kahawai Surfcasting Competition, involving 450 anglers casting out in the Bay, resulted in only 15 qualifying fish being caught, several readers voiced anger.
One said the demise of fish stocks worldwide could be attributed to over-fishing and pollution: "Having lived in Australia for almost 30 years, some of these issues lack of fishing for recreational fishers was a concern and various jurisdictions sort to create parks where trawlers could not operate. "Economically, the local recreational fisher puts more into local communities than the biggest trawlers. It's a no-brainer, really ... 'bout time the Kiwis followed the lead of the Aussies on this one and send the trawlers a long way out, say 200km." Said another reader: "Make it mandatory to have active GPS devices on each fishing trawler within the bay area. It would ... ensure they can be tracked to ensure they are not trawling close to land."
Cam Ormsby said: "I went out on my boat and trawled lures on the same day as this competition and caught three kahawai after covering 30km of water. Also on the trip, came across two trawlers within 3km of shore, dragging big nets. The fishery is bust. "I've also been recording my catch per effort this summer, as I go out each week, and am catching about one kahawai for every two hours' fishing. Pretty, sad really."
The Ministry for Primary Industries earlier told Hawke's Bay Today that while information indicated the overall health of the Wider Fisheries Management area, which Hawke's Bay was a part of, was good, there were several "concerns" about the health of smaller fishing areas.
"At the end of last year we met with recreational fishers in the area to discuss these concerns ... we will be looking to meet again with recreational fishers to discuss progress in March," an MPI spokesman said. Nino D'Esposito, owner of major boat-operating fishing, processing and exporting company Hawke's Bay Seafoods, was not surprised by the low catch on the day of the competition, saying the easterly conditions were not good.
"Grandfather, who started fishing here in the 1920s, used to say: When it's east you catch the least," he said.
Boats fishing for his company mainly did so out to sea, with four currently off the Chathams and others chasing albacore tuna off Cape Kidnappers.