TV star joins fight against fish waste

Northland extreme fisherman Matt Watson - star of the popular TV series the ITM Fishing Show - is throwing his weight behind a campaign to stop illegal fish dumping.

A story in the Advocate in March about commercial fisher Kelly Scoles, fined $25,000 and his boat confiscated after dumping an estimated five tonnes of snapper off Kawau Island in the Hauraki Gulf, sparked outrage among readers. The recent prosecution of the owners of the fishing vessel Oyang 77 for illegal dumping has also highlighted the problem.

But Watson, whose studio is just outside Kerikeri, said the wasteful practice was far more widespread than the few cases that made the news suggested.

While filming for his show in the Hauraki Gulf last November, he came across hundreds of dead and dying snapper floating off Channel Island.

"Most Kiwis would find this sort of waste of our precious seafood abhorrent," he said.

Ironically, at the time Watson was filming a show about a new fishing contest format he had come up with in a bid to reduce waste. In the new format, fish were photographed on a measuring board as proof of capture, with the top prizes going to the longest fish rather than the heaviest.

That meant fish did not have to be brought in and the angler could decide, based on need and conscience, whether to keep them or release them.

"Fishing tournaments are great to get people engaged in fishing and the marine environment. My only beef with them is they encourage participants to take more fish than they want or need," he said.

The new format will be introduced in the May 26 episode of the ITM Fishing Show.

Watson's account of dumped snapper in the Hauraki Gulf has sparked condemnation of the practice on the show's Facebook page, www.facebook.com/TheITMFishingShow.

In a lively debate about sustainable fishing practices, Watson calls for mandatory labelling of fish products telling consumers how the fish was caught.

That way consumers could support companies that used sustainable methods and avoid those that used methods such as bottom trawling.

"Let's not forget that there are still sustainable methods of commercial fishing, like long-lining for snapper, and decent, honest guys out there doing it," Watson said.

"So if everyone refused to buy bottom-trawl caught fish, and all products from the big companies, they would soon have to change their ways.

"It's time for mandatory labelling of how the fish was caught. That way we can support the good guys and avoid the bad guys."

Watson has also called on people to support LegaSea (www.legasea.co.nz), a New Zealand Sport Fishing Council programme working to boost fish numbers and protect the marine environment.