NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business / Companies / Tourism

White Island eruption: Fishing and tour operators struggling

By Anusha Bradley
RNZ·
17 Dec, 2019 07:43 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Focus Live: Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne on NZ's response to the White Island eruption

By RNZ

Whakatāne fishing and tour operators are losing thousands of dollars a day due to restrictions put in place following the Whakaari/White Island eruption.

As they head in to what is usually their peak season, they're anxiously waiting to hear more details about the relief package being offered to small businesses in the new year.

Neil Cook, owner of Fishing & More. Photo / RNZ (Anusha Bradley)
Neil Cook, owner of Fishing & More. Photo / RNZ (Anusha Bradley)

READ MORE:
• White Island eruption: New light shed on what caused deadly blow
• White Island eruption: Identities of two people still on the island revealed
• White Island eruption: Agony awaits Aussie family's lone survivor Jesse Langford
• Whakatāne Hospital ICU nurse who cared for White Island victims dies in crash

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Soon after the eruption happened, Ngāti Awa and neighbouring iwi placed rāhui on their coastlines.

Currently, while two bodies are still missing they remain in place and were bestowed to respect those who lost their lives and their whānau as well as protecting the mauri or life-force of the area where their bodies are at rest.

But the restrictions were having an impact on local businesses that relied on the sea.

With only a week until Christmas, Whakatāne's main street was a hive of activity this morning. It was usually a busy time of the year for the bait and tackle shop, Fishing and More, but today it was empty.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Shop owner Neil Cook said it has been like that every day for the past week.

"It's the lack of sales for basically everything. So many people can't go fishing. At this time of year I buy in so much product, and it's all just sitting here."

Cook said he was losing around $1,000 a day in lost sale. He hoped he would be eligible for some of $5 million in relief funding announced by the government yesterday.

"The biggest thing is that rāhui. I can understand it being on, and I respect that, but now it's probably time to lift it for the local coast and leave it at White Island," he said.

Discover more

New Zealand

White Island tour guide's family 'forever hopeful'

18 Dec 05:10 AM
New Zealand

Sydney teen to wake up to unimaginable horror after White Island tragedy

18 Dec 07:59 PM

Diveworks Charters runs tours to nearby Whale Island but its boats have been docked for the last week.

Owner Phil van Dusschoten welcomed the relief package. The two weeks before Christmas were usually their busiest and the company was losing more than $2000 a day, with four staff now without work.

"It is something we will probably need to look at. The bills are still coming in...but I don't know how it will extend to casual staff who would ordinarily be employed right now."

Phil van Dusschoten, owner of Diveworks Charters. Photo / RNZ (Anusha Bradley)
Phil van Dusschoten, owner of Diveworks Charters. Photo / RNZ (Anusha Bradley)

He could not take any more bookings until the rāhui was lifted, he said.

That uncertainty is also affecting The Gambler Fishing Charters owner Mick Goodin, who normally took clients fishing around White Island. He has had to cancel the last six days and all bookings for this week.

"We certainly respect the dead, and we have a lot of days ahead of us yet but the unknown factor is when the rāhui will be lifted. Certainly, in the meantime it's a financial burden. My deckies have no work and we have all got bills to pay.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Like others, he welcomed the relief package but was waiting to hear the details and he hoped it would allow him to pay staff that were now going without wages, he said.

Mick Goodin, owner of The Gambler Charters. Photo / RNZ (Anusha Bradley)
Mick Goodin, owner of The Gambler Charters. Photo / RNZ (Anusha Bradley)

Goodin, whose boat was the first to reach the island after the eruption, said it had been a traumatic experience for those first responders dealing with the injured.

"We just offered as much comfort as we could, gave them as much freshwater as we could to wash the wounds of the injured people...they had terrible burn marks.

"The stress factor of this has been huge and I know for some people it's really taken its toll."

When the restrictions were lifted he and other boat operators were offering to assist families in any way they need, he said.

The iwi were expected to release an update on the rāhui tomorrow.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Tourism

Premium
Tourism

Glimmer of hope for Chateau Tongariro restoration as former lessee accounts for $5m provision

16 May 01:00 AM
Premium
Property

Fast-tracking $200m film hub planned for Ayrburn

14 May 04:00 AM
Premium
Property

First look at controversial Bay of Islands marina plans

13 May 09:30 PM

The Hire A Hubby hero turning handyman stereotypes on their head

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Tourism

Premium
Glimmer of hope for Chateau Tongariro restoration as former lessee accounts for $5m provision

Glimmer of hope for Chateau Tongariro restoration as former lessee accounts for $5m provision

16 May 01:00 AM

A door may be opening at the Chateau: Hope for repair funds and operator interest.

Premium
Fast-tracking $200m film hub planned for Ayrburn

Fast-tracking $200m film hub planned for Ayrburn

14 May 04:00 AM
Premium
First look at controversial Bay of Islands marina plans

First look at controversial Bay of Islands marina plans

13 May 09:30 PM
Premium
On the Up: Multimillion-dollar glow worm expansion set for Rotorua's Redwoods

On the Up: Multimillion-dollar glow worm expansion set for Rotorua's Redwoods

12 May 07:00 AM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP