Vince McGrath, of Clive, getting-in an hour's whitebaiting on Monday morning before heading to work in Hastings. Photo / Paul Taylor
Vince McGrath, of Clive, getting-in an hour's whitebaiting on Monday morning before heading to work in Hastings. Photo / Paul Taylor
The best days of whitebaiting in Hawke's Bay are a distant memory for those who remember the good old days, and wish more could be done to grow the fishery back to some of its former glory.
Among them is conservationist and Ngati Pahauwera iwi leader and development trust chairmanToro Waaka, who has two distinct memories of the difference between looking for whitebait when he was growing up Napier about 50-60 years ago, and when he last tried about five years ago.
"You could get a bucketful," he remembers. A "kerosene can" of about five gallons, or almost 20 litres in metrics.
No metrics are needed in 2021. Waaka indicates the size of his last bounty from Pakuratah,i or "the Mohaka", by cupping his hands and wondering if there would be enough to escape over the sides.
Toro Waaka reckons there should be a 5-year rahui on whitebaiting, to allow the delicacy to recover. Photo / File
"When I was young we used to feed whitebait to the fowls, because it was cheaper than corn," he said as he wondered about the future of the whitebaiting season and commercial sales of whitebait.
The latter is the generic name for at least five species.
There are īnanga, kōaro, banded kōkopu, giant kōkopu, and shortjaw kōkopu, and it's about this time they gravitate up the rivers from the sea, swimming near the river edges.
The large shoals are perhaps no longer so large that they are referred to as runs.
But there are still big runs, they often come as waters clear after floods, and usually in the daytime on a rising tide.
Waaka says that despite claims of replenishing stock in recent years, New Zealand still has to protect its waterways, and the grasses where whitebait come to breed, or there won't be any at all.
The new whitebaiting season started on Sunday and ends on November 30.
Waaka reckons he'd prefer to see a "rahui" stopping the season, and commercial sales of whitebait, for at least five years.
He says that would give some time to generate the stocks, and allow time to stop the pollution which has led the demise.
Issues, and warnings, including the impact of gravel extraction, were canvassed in the Mohaka river, claim Waitangi Tribunal reports of 30 years ago.
Some new regulations are in place following what the Department of Conservation says was extensive public engagement and consultation, dating to 2018 and aiming to help make the fishery more sustainable.
Adjustments include changes to such factors as fishing methods and gear, season length, and upstream fishing limits.
The weather in Hawke's Bay has provided a positive start, with sunny but sometimes showery conditions forecast across much of the rural area each day this week.
