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The Kaipara Harbour scallop fishery will be closed to recreational fishers from October 23.
Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash says the most recent scientific information shows scallop abundance in the harbour is the lowest on record and the distribution of scallops is increasingly limited.
The harbour has been closed for commercial fishing since 1986, and it’s now being extended to recreational fishers to help the stock rebuild.
The closure comes close on the heels of an MPI announcement that the commercial tarakihi catch, in the fisheries areas off the east coast of the North and South Islands, is to be reduced by 20 per cent in an effort to rebuild the depleted stock.
Fisheries NZ has also signalled that further cuts to the tarakihi catch are in store next year, unless the commercial fishing industry can develop a plan to rebuild the fishery within 10 years.
