Shellfish and finfish harvest ban extended two more years at customary East Coast sites

The Motuoroi temporary closure to shellfish and finfish harvesting covers about 1.2sq km and includes the fisheries waters between Motuoroi Island and the mainland, from the Lockwood Woolshed to south of the shore caves. Image / Land Information New Zealand, Ministry for Primary Industries

A closure notice for the harvest of all finfish and shellfish, including crustaceans and rock lobster, has been extended by two more years for two customary sites on the East Coast near Anaura Bay.

Fisheries New Zealand issued a public notice this week closing fisheries waters at Tangoiro/Waihirere and Motuoroi, north of Gisborne, from July 26 until July 25, 2027.

The Motuoroi temporary closure to shellfish and finfish harvesting covers about 1.2sq km - the fisheries waters between Motuoroi Island and the mainland from the Lockwood woolshed to south of the shore caves.

The Tangoiro/Waihirere temporary closure of shellfish and finfish harvesting covers about 0.7sq km - the fisheries waters offshore of Tangoiro and Waihirere beaches.

The closures were requested by the Ngāti Wakarara–Ngāti Hau Takutai Kaitiaki Trust, which represents tāngata whenua for the rohe moana, following a rāhui and previous temporary closures.

The trust had earlier successfully applied for temporary closures in those areas from July 26, 2023 until July 25, 2025 inclusive.

Emma Taylor, director of fisheries management for Fisheries New Zealand, said the closures at Tangoiro/Waihirere and Motuoroi were first put in place in 2023.

“The trust requested the closure in 2023 due to concerns about the effects of fishing pressure on finfish and shellfish in the area,” Taylor said.

“During the period of the initial closure, cyclones Gabrielle and Hale had a significant impact on the marine environment, meaning that the trust has not seen the recovery to local fish stocks it hoped for from the first closure.”

Fisheries New Zealand received three submissions during consultation on the renewal of the closures, all three of which were in favour of the proposal “to varying degrees”.

“Fishery officers have provided education to any fishers who may have been unaware of the closure, but generally, fishers have followed the rules and have not fished in the area,” Taylor said.

Section 186A of the Fisheries Act 1996 allows the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, currently Shane Jones, to temporarily close an area, or temporarily restrict or prohibit the use of any fishing method in respect of an area, if satisfied that the closure, restriction or prohibition will recognise and provide for the use and management practices of tangata whenua in the exercise of non-commercial fishing rights.

In the letter requesting the temporary closure to be extended for two more years, trust chair Jack Papuni and deputy chair Murrie Gordon wrote that about 30 people voted in support of extending the closure at two formal hui. That verbal support had been offered by 20 people in less formal contexts.

“With a quieter weather pattern experienced over the past 12 months and expected to last for at least another 12 months, it is hoped that a further closure will improve the number of taonga species (kina, crayfish and pāua) and an improvement in size of existing taonga species and the plant life they require,” Papuni and Gordon wrote in the letter.

“Planning and budgeting have been completed to install a camera and improved signage in the Motuoroi closure and signage elsewhere if the rollover is approved. This will assist the hapū to manage poachers better and continue with educating the public.”