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A summer of restricted fishing looms for Southland anglers as Federated Farmers Southland calls for farmers to remove angler access to private land.
Southland farmers are being asked to boycott fishing licences and to remove fishing access by taking down access signs.
The move, led by Federated Farmers Southland presidentJason Herrick, comes in response to what he described as deteriorating relations with Southland Fish & Game.
Federated Farmers Southland are calling for a boycott of angler access due to Fish & Game's support of a recent court decision. Photo / Unsplash
Environment Southland’s Southland Water and Land Plan was notified in 2016, and Rule 24 was initially appealed to the Environment Court by Forest & Bird and Fish & Game, who have expressed satisfaction with last week’s court decision.
Herrick told the Herald the boycott move stemmed from reasons a lot deeper than the recent decision in the Environment Court.
“Fish & Game Southland have done nothing but make issues out of everything that we are trying to do in the rural sector for the betterment of our rivers, and they are just arrogant, in my words.”
In a statement, Herrick said farmers had long allowed anglers access to their land out of goodwill, “but we’ve had enough of Fish & Game’s relentless anti-farming rhetoric and constant opposition to our work”.
Herrick said the relationship between farmers and Fish & Game had been “washed away down the Mataura River”.
“We’re now calling for local farmers to join us in boycotting fishing licences, and to remove fishing access by taking down access signs.”
He also called for farmers and supporters to replace those signs with an orange ribbon to show their frustration with Fish & Game.
Federated Farmers Southland president Jason Herrick said the boycott on anglers was specifically for Southland farms. Photo / NZME
”I want to be very clear, we’re not asking farmers to destroy access signs, but they can return their signs to Southland Fish & Game if they like.”
Herrick clarified that the boycott was exclusive to the Southland region.
Federated Farmers spokeswoman Bernadette Hunt said the court decision would require more than 3000 Southland farmers to apply for a resource consent just to continue farming, which was impractical and “lacks any common sense”.
Environment Southland chief executive Wilma Falconer said the council would be taking its concerns to the Government.
“Environment Southland’s position is that it is doubtful additional resource consents for incidental diffuse discharges would have any additional environmental benefit beyond the land use rules the Southland Water and Land Plan already provides. Instead, it will add another layer of bureaucracy and cost for farmers and require the council to resource the significant increase in consents processing that would be needed,” she said.
“The court’s decision has potential implications for councils and farmers in other regions, too, and Environment Southland has now effectively exhausted its options in the courts.”
Fish and Game Southland manager Zane Moss said Fish & Game was involved in the case as part of its role to manage and protect fish and game bird species and their habitats.
“Based on the evidence the court concluded our rivers were significantly degraded by diffuse discharges, and that the rules in the proposed Southland Water and Land Plan weren’t sufficiently robust to ensure that it didn’t continue,” he said.
He said Fish & Game Southland understands the challenges farmers face, and that Environment Southland should put effective rules in place around the riskiest practices so all farmers are not required to seek consents.
“It is disappointing that Southland Federated Farmers are using this issue to limit access for everyday New Zealanders wanting to catch some fish to unwind or for the dinner table.
“The Federated Farmers comments don’t reflect our experiences of working constructively with Southland farmers.”
Herrick said farmers were not stopping access to the rivers, and anglers would still be able to fish but they would just have to walk a little bit further for a spot.
A Forest & Bird spokesperson said the Court of Appeal decision was a fantastic outcome.
“Southland Regional Council’s response to losing on this issue for the third time is a knee-jerk reaction that prioritises pollution over freshwater health,” they said.
Ben Tomsett is a Multimedia Journalist for the New Zealand Herald, based in Dunedin
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