Dickson Hohaia of South Taranaki won last year's Ninety Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza with a 9.060kg fish that earned him a whopping $32,000. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Dickson Hohaia of South Taranaki won last year's Ninety Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza with a 9.060kg fish that earned him a whopping $32,000. Photo / Peter de Graaf
The Omicron outbreak has forced the cancellation of the hugely popular Ninety Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza for the first time in the event's history.
The decision, which was made as community spread of the infectious virus was confirmed and all of New Zealand went back into the red traffic lightsetting, has ''completely devastated'' organisers John Stewart and Dave Collard.
The axeing of what is thought to be the world's biggest surfcasting contest will have knock-on effects for local volunteer groups such as Kaitaia Fire Brigade and Far North Surf Rescue, and will hit retail and hospitality businesses which rely on the influx of fishers from every corner of Aotearoa.
All 1000 tickets to the event, which had been scheduled to take place on March 8-12, sold out shortly after they were released in mid-2021. About 300 people were on the waiting list.
Ticket holders will be offered the choice of a refund or automatic entry to the 2023 contest.
''Dave and I are highly disappointed. It takes 12 months of hard work and planning to deliver an event of this scale and then it comes to nothing. We're completely devastated,'' Stewart said.
However, he realised they weren't the only event organisers affected by the Government's red light Covid-19 setting.
''We have to respect the health warnings and move on,'' he said.
The event is limited to 1000 tickets but up to twice that number, including fishers' families from around the country, attend the daily prizegiving ceremonies at Waipapakauri Ramp. Photo / supplied
It's the first time in the bonanza's 11-year history that the event has been cancelled.
The 2020 contest had strict limits on the number of people at daily prizegiving ceremonies, but the 2021 bonanza was able to go ahead as normal.
Stewart said the cancellation's effects would ripple well beyond the 1000 disappointed entrants.
The event pumped more than $2 million into the Far North economy each year and was an important fundraiser for groups such as Far North Surf Rescue, with president Tony Walker saying the bonanza was the club's biggest earner of the year.
Last year's fish auctions also raised $7000 for the Kaitaia Fire Brigade.
Businesses which sold prizes would miss out on income, as would contractors who did everything from picking up rubbish to cleaning portaloos.
Snapper Bonanza contestants battle the surf at Motupia Island, near the northern end of Ninety Mile Beach. Photo / Laurence Erstich
Mike Rider, owner of Riders Sports Depot in Kaitaia, said the cancellation was ''a hell of a shame''.
He believed it was the biggest sporting event in Northland in terms of economic impact. ''But I think everyone understands the reality of what's going on. They had to bite the bullet and do it now so that people aren't waiting until the last minute to find out.''
Rider said fishing supplies stores like his would miss out on income, as would accommodation providers, food outlets and liquor stores.
The bonanza was also a social occasion, allowing friends from around the country to get together once a year.
He had suggested running a series of one-day competitions limited to 100 people, with the entry fees distributed as prize money, ''just to give people something to do''.
The contest's popularity is due in no small part to generous prizes.
Whoever catches the heaviest fish overall goes home with at least $32,000, and even the fish closest to the average weight earns the angler $10,000.
You don't even have to land a fish to win big — thousands of dollars worth of spot prizes are handed out daily, culminating in a $50,000 ute on the final afternoon.
The 2023 Haze Real Estate Ninety Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza will be held on March 21-25.
Stewart said anyone who'd bought a ticket to the cancelled 2022 event and wanted to keep it for next year didn't have to do anything, because it would be valid for the 2023 contest.
Anyone who wanted a refund should go to the contest website www.snapperbonanza.co.nz and fill in the refund form.
However, their place in the 2023 contest would then be sold to someone on the waiting list, Stewart said.
Dickson Hohaia of South Taranaki celebrates his win in last year's Snapper Bonanza with organiser John Stewart. Photo / Peter de Graaf
The cancellation means the 12.030kg record for heaviest snapper set by Te Puke's Darin Maxwell in 2012 will be safe for another year.
Last year's winner was Dickson Hohaia, of Eltham, with a 9.060kg fish.
The Snapper Bonanza is the successor to the long-running Snapper Classic founded by Tony and Jean Brljevich in the 1980s.
Stewart, a Kaitaia printer, and Collard, a district councillor and publican, rescued and renamed the classic after a subsequent owner hit financial difficulties.
