Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • 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 / Northern Advocate

Power boat ban threat to fishery

By Mike Dinsdale
Northern Advocate·
24 Feb, 2016 01:00 AM3 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

Northland angler Graham Tearle, a regular at the Lake Taharoa, with a 3.1kg rainbow. It's a fishery that Northland Fish & Game says could be under threat from proposals for the Kaipara District Council.

Northland angler Graham Tearle, a regular at the Lake Taharoa, with a 3.1kg rainbow. It's a fishery that Northland Fish & Game says could be under threat from proposals for the Kaipara District Council.

An outdoors lobby group has joined the campaign against a proposed ban on power boats on Kai Iwi Lakes, saying the move could spell the end of the lakes' popular trout fishery.

Northland Fish & Game wants anglers who fish Kai Iwi Lakes, north of Dargaville, to support the trout fishery it says will be under threat if Kaipara District Council (KDC) proposal goes ahead.

After a recent review into the Taharoa Domain Reserve Management Plan 2002, a suggested bylaw (the Draft Kai Iwi Lakes (Taharoa Domain) Bylaw 2015) has been drawn up by the council and has being put out for consultation alongside the Draft Kai Iwi Lakes (Taharoa Domain) Reserve Management Plan 2015. If approved, the bylaw will ban the use of power boats in the Taharoa Domain catchment and rid the lakes of recreational water sports from as early as 2018.

This could spell ruin for the Kai Iwi Lakes Water Ski Club, which has been on the Lake Waikare shoreline for more than 40 years and holds annual competitions at the lake.

The plan also sparked a protest that saw a convoy of towed boats stretch 1.2km through Dargaville earlier this month.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Taharoa Domain Governance Committee chairman Peter Winder said the core of the draft plan is to protect and enhance the environment, while making the lakes and domain accessible for a variety of activities and recreation.

But Fish & Game Northland manager Rudi Hoetjes said it is imperative that anglers put in submissions strongly supporting the lakes' trout fishery before a Kaipara District Council deadline on March 22.

"The ban on motorised craft alone would deal a severe blow to older or disabled anglers and families who fish together on the lake. This needs full research and a great deal more consultation. There needs to be serious consideration of the potentially harmful impacts, both ecological and economic."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The lakes are New Zealand's most northern significant rainbow trout lake fishery, which has been used for decades by locals, families and visitors. Power boats were needed to restock them with trout.

"Without regular stocking the fishery will collapse in three years with a resulting loss to the tourism sector, as anglers contribute to the local economy through fish-related spending on accommodation, food and fishing equipment. The fishery has no natural spawning so stocking is needed and without it the fishery would simply disappear," he said.

"There could also be some very serious environmental consequences ... trout have a crucial role in eating the introduced pest species, mosquito fish, which would otherwise severely impact on native species like galaxids."

Mr Hoetjes said Fish & Game has called experts including fisheries scientists and lawyers as it puts together its submission to the KDC.

Discover more

New Zealand

Friends count their blessings

23 Feb 08:25 PM

North in line for Winston whipping

23 Feb 10:40 PM

Sharing the love of comic character

24 Feb 12:00 AM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

Far North homes without power after severe gales

Northern Advocate

'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi

Northern Advocate

Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Far North homes without power after severe gales
Northern Advocate

Far North homes without power after severe gales

More than 170 customers south of Cape Rēinga are still without power.

17 Jul 08:26 AM
'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi
Northern Advocate

'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi

17 Jul 06:02 AM
Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime
Northern Advocate

Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime

17 Jul 04:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
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
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP