New crayfish limits could help relieve Bay's collapsed fishery

New limits for the allowable catch for crayfish in the Bay of Plenty have been set. Photo/File

The decision to reduce the allowable catch for crayfish in the Bay of Plenty is being hailed as a way to relieve the devastated fishery.

Minister of Fisheries Stuart Nash has set the new limits for commercial fishing at 80 tonnes per year, set aside a recreational allowance of 34 tonnes and an allowance for Maori customary fishing at 16.5 tonnes.

The new limits apply to the Hauraki Gulf and Bay of Plenty, known as the CRA2 region, and is being welcomed by local divers, LegaSea and the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council.

Mount Maunganui Underwater Club captain Russ Hawkins said he hoped the move would help replenish crayfish numbers.

On Sunday, a group of 12 people from the club went out diving and caught four crayfish between them. He said that was a "good day".

Club members went out every few weeks and it was not uncommon to come back empty-handed.

"A lot of times we have come back without one."

LegaSea and New Zealand Sport Fishing Council spokesman Richard Baker cautiously welcomed the decision, which he said came after stark evidence of the collapse of the fishery.

The 2017 stock assessment put the stock at a historic low, with only 5 per cent of male and 18 per cent of the female population in the water now compared to the estimated size of the unfished crayfish population.

"We have been raising our concern about crayfish fisheries for a number of years," Baker said.

"The opportunity to start rebuilding the CRA2 stock was lost four years ago. As recently as March last year the National Rock Lobster Management Group was advising the minister that there is no evidence of sustainability issues with the CRA2 fishery.

"Since then we've spoken to fishers and divers who have all said the same thing – the fishery is devastated, and decisive action is urgently needed.

"Our recent poll on management options shows that 39 per cent of respondents support an 80 tonne commercial fishery and 42 per cent of respondents wanted the minister to close the CRA2 fishery to all fishing, for a time."

Baker said although closure was an option there was no political appetite for such action and the management of crayfish relied on commercial data gathering.

"It is no wonder the public are losing confidence in the Quota Management System when they see one of our most valuable fisheries on the brink of collapse."

The New Zealand Sport Fishing Council recently submitted the recreational fishing
public had already contributed to rebuilding the fishery because their catches had
collapsed.

During recent harvest surveys, researchers found that 73 per cent of all recreational fishers in CRA2 returned with none, one or two crayfish. Less than 17 per cent took their six-per-day limit.

"We must put the fishery first. However, there is a lingering concern that even this
decision may not be enough if recruitment remains at its current, historically low, level," Baker said.

A review of fishing regulations in CRA2 is planned for later this year. This could include options for a reduced bag limit for recreational fishers and closed seasons.

The NZ Rock Lobster Industry Council said it was encouraged by the acknowledgement from the minister of his obligations to control recreational catch, and the expectation there would be increased compliance focus from Ministry for Primary Industries to reduce the levels of illegal unreported removals.