Central salmon season ready for early closure

Shortening the fishing season on central South Island rivers such as the Waitaki aims to restore the threatened fishery.

The salmon-fishing season will end a month earlier in central parts of the South Island for the next three seasons.

Minister of Conservation Chris Carter has approved the 2006-07 season ending on March 31, instead of April 30.

The change is part of measures being put in place by the council to restore the threatened fishery in central South Island rivers. The shorter season will curtail salmon fishing in the Waitaki, Opihi, Orari, Rangitata and Ashburton Rivers.

Closing day for the trout fishing season will remain April 30.

Fish and Game officer Mark Webb said the closure on March 31 would be reviewed again after this season.

The salmon season change was not because anglers were catching too many salmon but because the fishery was in such a poor state. It would help improve the number of fish reaching spawning grounds.

Reducing the season by a month was one of several measures the council had discussed with anglers as part of its salmon initiative.

Mr Webb said the council had been surprised at the level of acceptance among anglers to improve the fishery.

"Some may not like having a month less to fish for salmon, but they accept the need to preserve and improve the fishery for future generations," he said.

The early closure would remain in place for three years because it would take at least that long to see what effect it was having.

A minimum salmon harvest - of more than 3650 salmon in total - had also been set as one of the criteria for reviewing the March 31 closing date.

About 20 people attended a meeting in Dunedin last week to hear about the South Island salmon management plan.

One of the instigators, North Canterbury Fish and Game manager Ross Millichamp, said when contacted, the plan was a chance to have one single policy on salmon on the east coast of the South Island. It was viewed as one fishery but at the moment was governed by six Fish and Game organisations, all with different policies. Records had shown the salmon fishery was fluctuating greatly and it was in a long low spell at present, which started about 1998.

In the mid 1990s, between 20,000 and 30,000 salmon were taken from South Island rivers each season, but in the past couple of years only about 2000-3000 were landed.

Proposals in the policy including voluntary work with hatcheries and stocking degraded habitats.

The cost of the new plan and initiatives could be between $100,000 and $200,000 a year.

A proposal to fund the plan by increasing fees for salmon anglers failed to gain any support. Submissions on the plan close on October 9. It was hoped it would be approved by the Minister of Conservation by next April.

- OTAGO DAILY TIMES