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National bodies, community groups and marine organisations have joined forces with the Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust in calling on Oceans and Fisheries Minister David Parker to ban scallop dredging in local waters.
The call coincides with Ngati Manuhiri kaumatua, or elders, placing a rāhui on the northern Hauraki Gulf to stop the ongoing degradation and depletion of scallop beds, at a dawn ceremony on Waitangi Day.
The settlement trust has made a formal application to the minister to close the scallop fishery for two years in a bid to reinstate shellfish beds and help rebuild numbers, under Section 186A of the Fisheries Act.
The move comes after the minister’s endorsement of other rāhui banning scallop harvesting around New Zealand, most recently and significantly off the Coromandel last year. Acting chief executive Nicola McDonald said that while it was good that Minister Parker had acted on the earlier rāhui, it had increased pressure on local scallop stocks.
“We have been aware of the depletion of tipa (scallops) for a long time,” she said. “Those concerns have intensified since the commercial fishing effort has shifted north due to the minister closing the eastern Coromandel to scallop fishing in September last year.”
The area covered by the rāhui, which was placed at Tawharanui Regional Park, extends from the Mokohino Islands and Mangawhai in the north, out to beyond Aotea Great Barrier Island and down to Takapuna in the south.
The rāhui and application to Minister Parker are being supported by a diverse range of groups, businesses and individuals, including LegaSea, the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council, Yachting New Zealand, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, the New Zealand Underwater Association, Kawau Boating Club, NZ Diving, Wettie NZ, Warkworth Gamefish Club, Mangawhai Boating & Fishing Club, and Omaha Beach Community.
LegaSea spokesperson Sam Woolford said dredging destroyed essential habitats for other marine life.
“Until dredging is banned, we will continue to do everything we can to support mana whenua and coastal communities to protect what is left, before it’s too late,” he said.
New Zealand Sport Fishing Council president Bob Gutsell said the council had dedicated a lot of resources to supporting the establishment of rāhui around the country.
“As recreational fishers we have seen the damage caused by dredges and we wholeheartedly support the need to stop harvesting of scallops for a while,” he said. “Simply, we need to give these beds a rest.”
The rāhui will remain in place indefinitely, until scallop stocks recover.
Meanwhile, Fisheries New Zealand is currently considering proposals to close the entire Hauraki Gulf to Bay of Plenty scallop fishery for a minimum of three years. The New Zealand Sport Fishing Council, New Zealand Angling & Casting Association and the New Zealand Underwater Association all submitted in favour of a ban during the review consultation period, which closed last week.
