Fishing: Kahawai quota battle heats up

The recreational fishing sector is still preparing affidavits for the High Court case that will seek to force Fisheries Minister David Benson-Pope to review his decision on the introduction of kahawai into the quota management system.

One opponent claims the purse-seining method pursued after the sighting of surface schools by spotter plane has scooped up 4000 schools of kahawai and is taking 600,000 meals from the plates of amateur fishermen every year.

He bases his figures on the fact that the trawlers take an average 17 tonnes per shot and that schools can be as big as 40 or 50 tonnes.

"It's the most devastating method of fishing for a species that has to feed on the surface. They have nowhere to hide. Pretty soon a plane will find the last school of kahawai and that will be it."

No other fishing method decimates a whole school, he said.

The West Coast kahawai certainly appear to be decreasing in average size. A pelagic fish that moves around the coastline, they seem to congregate in the Bay of Plenty and that is where most purse-seine fishing is concentrated. But perhaps the fishery is decreasing all-round because of the concentrated activity in a prime feed area?

The problem is, no one knows. There has been no tagging survey on kahawai, despite the species' resilience to handling and release. No one knows if Bay fish move around North Cape or through Cook Strait, or at all.

There is no court date set for the case but when it starts, one of the key questions that will be put to the Ministry of Fisheries is why it made recommendations based on assumptions, with no solid evidence. Check the website option4.co.nz (see link below) for details.

The southerly and south-easterly wind has slowed the fishing mid-week but good catches are still being made early morning and late afternoon. The bait meatball north of Waiheke is still there and productive with jigs or baits at those times but can be dead during the day.

There are loads of john dory under the baitfish; catch a jack mackerel and put it back down on the bottom back-hooked then wait for the line to walk out slowly. The dory are a good size and it is the best eating of the inshore shallow water fish.

The Rangitoto Channel is still fishing well, producing snapper in the 2-4kg range in very good condition. Strayline with pilchards and strike the bites. Bigger fish are being caught in the Tiri Channel and vicinity, though that too slowed in the colder winds.

The north end of Muriwai Beach has been good in the favourable offshore with snapper and kahawai in close. Kite fishers have been scoring well dropping their rig 300m out into the Kaipara entrance at low tide, decent weight needed when the current is running and the fish on the bottom.

The wind turned the marlin off their aggressive bite off the west coast this week.