Fishing: Challenge builds to marine reserve plan

By PETER JESSUP

The fight against ill-conceived marine reserve proposals continues to focus the attention of fishermen, a Westcoast Action Committee having been set up to oppose Forest and Bird's plan for Auckland's Waitakere coastline.

Two public meetings have been held by the proponents of the conservation plan, the first at Muriwai degenerating to a slanging match, the second at Bethells Beach producing some common ground and agreement on handling submissions.

The recreational fishers group, option4, has dedicated part of its website to hosting comment on the marine park proposal sponsored by Forest and Bird. The site will handle the collation of those after Forest and Bird said it was not geared to accept submissions via e-mail.

In addition, representatives of the two groups will meet to discuss ways of achieving the conservation aims without going to legislation.

The option4 group and local residents believe the main problem in terms of depletion of west coast wildlife is with Asians who scrape rock ledges bare of all marine life. There are no specific restrictions in terms of many varieties of shellfish not normally taken by Maori, Europeans and Pacific Islanders but used for Asian soups.

The simple remedy, says option4, is to use Fisheries Act legislation that allows local groups to close set areas of coast to shellfish gathering.

The conservationists have concerns about sea bird breeding habitat in sand dunes, dog attacks on breeding birds, saving the Maui's dolphin and protecting rare sponges. Option4 reckons creation of a marine park will not resolve those: Bird breeding grounds can be protected, local councils can shoot roaming dogs, a net ban is already in place to protect the dolphins, no one dives for sponges.

The fish off the west coast migrate through the region because there are few reef structures to attract them to stay year-round. Closing the coast to commercial fishers out to four nautical miles, as is proposed, threatens to drive industry into smaller regions which will then get hammered.

The discussion will continue at the Waiuku Community Hall at 7pm tonight, at the Waitakere City Council chambers in Henderson on May 12 and the Laingholm Community Hall on May 19. Submissions to the West Coast Action Group are set to close on May 31.

The fishing continues apace when weather allows.

Four nautical miles off the Manukau bar, just before the big swell hit, the problem was getting through the kahawai to the big snapper below.

Berley may have been the problem. It might be better just finding the bottom-feeders and targeting them because we hooked 10 kahawai to every red. Out with Huia local and Hook, Line and Sinker restaurant owner Wayne Floyd, we moved back inshore from 33m to 11m, from clear water to the murkiness of the shore.

Pan-size snapper have been taken in numbers just off the Awhitu Peninsula but we'd miss the trophy-sized ones, he predicted. And right then he took the biggest fish of the day, nudging 10kg. Which again proves that the big ones are in close where you would not normally expect them to be. It will last only another couple of weeks, the first real southerly blow sure to send them out of the chilly shallows.

Go to Option4 to comment on the west coast marine park plan.