Fishing ban on crayfish floated for east coast from Auckland to top of Northland

Spiny rock lobster, better known as crayfish, are a natural predator of kina. Photo / NZME

An “urgent marine crisis” could see crayfish from Northland’s east coast off the menu for at least three years.

Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is considering banning commercial and recreational fishing of spiny rock lobster, known as crayfish, from the north’s entire east coast.

Consultation is needed before any ban can go ahead, but a precedent has already been set with a three-year closure of spiny rock lobster fishing in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf, which Jones announced earlier this year.

The move comes after the High Court rejected the Government’s revised quota management plan for crayfish in Northland, finding it did not do enough to “address an urgent marine crisis” in the eastern part of the zone.

The court ruling earlier this year found the area is plagued by kina barrens, where the urchin populations have exploded due to a lack of predators, decimating kelp forests which are a nursery for other sea species.

The crayfish, also known as red rock lobster or kōura, are a natural predator of kina but their numbers have been declining.

Jones said with Northland well known for its great fishing, reducing access to the crayfish would be a “radical change”.

“It [crayfish] has been an iconic image for holidaymakers or people wanting to get a feed.”

However, he said both recreational and commercial fishers in Northland have already said they can see a problem with declining crayfish numbers and exploding kina numbers.

Any ban would not include Northland’s west coast, where 90% of commercial fishers are based, nor would it include packhorse crayfish, which are less under threat, Jones said.

Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones, who has already announced significant reforms for New Zealand's fisheries, is now looking at a ban of crayfish takes from Northland's east coast. Photo / NZME

There will be a statutory consultation process, including discussing how long such a ban could last.

But Jones said dealing with this ecological issue would take a marathon, not a sprint, and must be backed by science.

“I’m willing to be flexible, but I don’t want to go too far away from the science and technology.

“It’s not tolerable that this resource should continue to decline in a very popular portion of our coastline, from Auckland to the Bay of Islands and beyond.”

Jones wants more work to reduce kina barrens

Kina barrens, such as this one pictured in Northland's Maitai Bay in 2018, happen when kina populations explode with the urchin eating everything on the seafloor.

Alongside any changes to the crayfish catch, Jones wants to see more being done to reduce the kina infestations.

He has introduced new rules to increase the kina bag limit, so more can be removed from problem areas.

Jones praised the work of Te Kohuroa Rewilding Initiative, which has cleared more than 8000 kina from Matheson Bay/Te Kohuroa in north Auckland with a special permit under the new rules.

The initiative has already found areas cleared of kina have kelp growing back and the kina are not returning.

Jones said such a community project could be great in Northland, if it could involve young people not in work, alongside hapū or iwi groups.

“We could get these young people in the water, start to learn more about the environment and start to do good.”

Court process dates back to 2022

The High Court decision in February comes after a lengthy legal process dating back to 2022, initiated by Environmental Law Initiative and Northland hapū Te Uri O Hikihiki, Ngāti Hau and Ngāti Kaharau Hapū ki Hokianga.

The groups took then-Fisheries Minister David Parker to task for failing to sustainably manage Northland’s crayfish stock.

A revised plan in March 2023 by then-minister Stuart Nash reduced the total allowable catch by 11% for recreational fishers, from 193 tonnes to 172 tonnes, and 15% for commercial, from 105 tonnes to 89 tonnes.

But the Environmental Law Initiative and Northland hapū again challenged this plan, and were backed by the High Court that the new limit would still not address the issues on the east coast.

Jones, as minister, has since appealed this decision to clarify certain aspects of the decision and the 2023 total allowable catch currently remains in place.

Fisheries NZ started consulting on ways to manage Northland’s spiny rock lobster fishery, to help mitigate kina barrens, late last year, and it considers these measures to be consistent with the latest court ruling.

Consultation is expected to begin around the middle of the year.

Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.