Anglers urged to look after Rotorua Lakes this fishing season

Department of Conservation at Tarawera Landing with the boat before heading out to put out no camping signs before opening weekend.

The opening of the fishing season has local environmental authorities urging anglers to look after the environment.

This includes not lighting fires on public conservation land, reporting sightings of aquatic pests and camping only at designated areas.

Department of Conservation staff spent yesterday morning at Lakes Tarawera, Rotoiti and Okataina, making sure signs showing anglers where they could camp overnight were in tact.

Department of Conservation biodiversity ranger, Maurice Wilke, said it was especially important the public knew the areas they could camp around the lakes to lessen the impact on the environment.

Wilke expected to see many boats out on the lakes come Monday.

"Have a good time out there but remember your actions can lead to a negative impact on others."

Bay of Plenty Regional Council warned the spread of aquatic pests could cause irreverisble damage to local lakes and was calling on anglers to be extra vigilant and help stop the spread of catfish.

Lake Rotoiti held the only known population of catfish in the Bay of Plenty after the species was discovered in 2016.

Since the find, the regional council and Te Arawa Lakes Trust has worked to keep the number of catfish down and to stop the spread.

The regional council's biosecurity team leader Shane Grayling said catfish were a "nasty invasive pest" that not only fed on native fish, trout and trout eggs but were also a "serious threat" to the taonga species, koura.

"They also lower water quality by churning up mud while feeding," Grayling said.

Anyone visiting Rotorua lakes was reminded to always check their boat, trailer and gear for weeds before leaving a waterway as catfish or their eggs would often hide among the weed fragments.

Catfish would also hide in trailers so people were urged to not leave them in the water unless loading or unloading their boats.

Looking after the environment:

Protect our forests
-No fire on public conservation land. The effect of fire on vegetation and wildlife can be catastrophic and potentially very costly. Offenders may be held personally liable for these costs.

Camping at designated sites only
DOC is reminding lake users that camping is only permitted at designated areas.
-Hot Water Beach [campsite caters for up to 30 campsites of various sizes. This site must be booked and details on this and facilities provided at all these campsites are available from the DOC website]
-Lake Tarawera Outlet has 50 sites
-Humphries Bay
-Lake Ōkareka
-Lake Rotoiti, Rotoma or Okataina [No camping is permitted on public conservation land around these lakes]

Protect our wildlife
No dogs are permitted on public conservation land