Tourists to pay more for trout fishing under licence proposal

Under a proposal that aims impact of visiting anglers, international tourists will have to pay more than Kiwis to catch trout and other freshwater fish from our streams. Photo / APN

International tourists will have to pay more than Kiwis to catch trout and other freshwater fish under a proposal that aims to limit the impact of visiting anglers on backcountry streams.

Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson today said she was considering a new fishing licence structure under which non-residents would pay higher licence fees than locals, as is common overseas.

Ms Wilkinson last year asked the Fish and Game Council to put together a discussion document on the issue with input from the Department of Conservation.

The document noted that international anglers typically targeted remote backwaters more intensively and over longer periods than New Zealand anglers, but did no more to contribute to freshwater fisheries management.

Local anglers sometimes saw international anglers as freeloaders who were using an asset they have had no part in creating or maintaining, the report noted.

Two thirds of about 70 public submissions on the discussion document were in favour of a non-resident licence fee.

Rotorua Anglers Association president Wade Fleet said most sports anglers were in support of the proposal.

"We're very much in favour for people from other countries having to pay more," he told APNZ.

"There is some revenue obviously that is brought in by visitors from overseas, but I know myself, because I've travelled extensively, I don't mind paying for an event or for an experience."

Visitors would not mind paying more if the pricing was fair, he said.

"New Zealand has some of the best fishing in the world."

Mr Fleet said non-resident licences would help to reduce the stigma some locals attached to international anglers, he said.

He had not heard of any fishing guides, who rely on tourist dollars, opposed to the proposal.

Ms Wilkinson today said New Zealanders were understandably passionate about their trout and other sports fisheries, and backcountry angling was a major tourism drawcard.

"Freshwater fisheries are expensive to maintain and while visiting anglers use these waterways frequently they contribute less to their management than local anglers," she said.

"A non-resident licence has been proposed as a means of developing a pricing structure that is both more equitable to the New Zealand anglers who helped create and maintain the fisheries, and consistent with other high-quality international fishing destinations."

Fish and Game and the Department of Conservation will consider the public submissions and have further discussions with interested parties, including iwi.

A proposal to introduce a non-resident fishing licence at an appropriate fee level would then be provided for Ms Wilkinson's consideration.