Rough sea return for Mahia cray boats

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Fishers were able to get back out on the water on Friday after a second successive industry test revealing biotoxin levels from the algal bloom that began last October had finally dipped to a safe level, commercial cray fisher Selwyn Ellison said.

Mr Ellison, who last week spoke to The Gisborne Herald about the strain on fishers and the industry generally caused by the algal bloom, said it was great to be back out fishing, albeit in Friday’s rough sea conditions.

Unfortunately the wait to return to the water would be longer for fishers in Gisborne and north as toxicity levels there are still testing high.

Mr Ellison said there was a large buffer between the Gisborne and Mahia fishing areas so there was no risk of still-contaminated crays being caught in pots at Mahia.