Thread: Scallops top of the south season looking grim

Originally Posted by mikee

My views are somewhat different but then to be fair as given my employment, I have a vested interest even though its in both camps .

Currently there are very very few coms fishing the Tasman and Golden bays as they have no quota left.

I see the same cars and trailers parked at the ramp every day right thru the summer, with fish so plentiful what are they doing with it all??

If it turns out that the total weight of snapper taken in Tasman Bay by recreational fisherman exceeds the total snapper catch taken by the commercial guys for the whole of the Challenger Area would that be a surprise?? What about if its 3 times more caught by Rec's

You are assuming that they are catching snapper everyday.

I know for fact this is not the case.

Originally Posted by mikee

My views are somewhat different but then to be fair as given my employment, I have a vested interest even though its in both camps .

Currently there are very very few coms fishing the Tasman and Golden bays as they have no quota left.

I see the same cars and trailers parked at the ramp every day right thru the summer, with fish so plentiful what are they doing with it all??

If it turns out that the total weight of snapper taken in Tasman Bay by recreational fisherman exceeds the total snapper catch taken by the commercial guys for the whole of the Challenger Area would that be a surprise?? What about if its 3 times more caught by Rec's

Also IF the rec catch was 3 times the commercial how could the fishery be recovering as it obviously is?

Originally Posted by mikee

My views are somewhat different but then to be fair as given my employment, I have a vested interest even though its in both camps .

Currently there are very very few coms fishing the Tasman and Golden bays as they have no quota left.

I see the same cars and trailers parked at the ramp every day right thru the summer, with fish so plentiful what are they doing with it all??

If it turns out that the total weight of snapper taken in Tasman Bay by recreational fisherman exceeds the total snapper catch taken by the commercial guys for the whole of the Challenger Area would that be a surprise?? What about if its 3 times more caught by Rec's

And thirdly.

I have spent 9-10 years fishing commercially with the two biggest players, I know how the industry works.

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

And thirdly.

I have spent 9-10 years fishing commercially with the two biggest players, I know how the industry works.

I think you might find it has changed a wee bit. Most of the rat bags have gone broke and only the biggest ratbags are left.

Originally Posted by mikee

I think you might find it has changed a wee bit. Most of the rat bags have gone broke and only the biggest ratbags are left.

My point exactly.

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Also IF the rec catch was 3 times the commercial how could the fishery be recovering as it obviously is?

+1 Clearly the REC catch is no where near what the commercial guys get...just look at how the snapper fishery is recovering in the last few years.More so the gurnard fishery, its booming out there. Even if the fishery is that good at the present time that the quoto for commercial can be increased why decrease the Rec guys limit? Image if it got reduced to say 5 snapper each, unless something was done about set lines etc it be a joke. I know many that are setting set lines and then fish by rod , theres going to be a waste of fish for sure. I would rather see the REC limit stay the same, certainly hasnt harmed the fishery in the slightest.
i be happy with a setline ban if the limit was reduced though. let them catch them with abit of effort and quite often out there getting a few on the rods isnt hard most days(not them all thou )

For 2015
TAC ( total allowable catch ) for Challenger is 306 tons
TACC (total allowable commercial catch) for Challenger is 200 tons, leaving 100tons for Rec and Customary catch

This is for the whole challenger area

The ramp surveys conducted on numbers of snapper caught in Tasman Bay.
So if we are taking more fish from the bay than the comms are for all of area 7 then I think there may be changes we won't like.
I would be

How regular are the fish counts on rec guys carried out ?

Originally Posted by Pengy

How regular are the fish counts on rec guys carried out ?

thru the main part of the season I have een them there most weekends and most weekdays (this was last season) I used to watch them while eating my lunch

I'm not saying whose right or wrong but if we are taking a lot of fish from a small area then that can't be good and if the coms were doing it we would all be calling for blood

I am not on either side of this one really, but have always been curious as to how they come up with figures for the rec catch. I have never known a fisheries officer to weigh a catch, for one thing. Educated guess work at best I reckon.
Comms catch on the other hand is reported

Originally Posted by mikee

thru the main part of the season I have een them there most weekends and most weekdays (this was last season) I used to watch them while eating my lunch

I'm not saying whose right or wrong but if we are taking a lot of fish from a small area then that can't be good and if the coms were doing it we would all be calling for blood

Thats the thing mikee. The COMMERCIAL guys were raping it and people were calling for blood! After they got controlled and trawling too close to shore was stopped it took awhile but the fishery has recovered to be in the best state its been in since the 70s-early 80s..The REC catch hasnt been reduced, more people are catching alot more snapper and its improving every year...its a fact.
The commerical guys were raping the breeding stock, catching tons of big breeding snapper. Rec guys tend to return the breeding stock, 20lbers arent as good eating as smaller ones.
One thing is for sure, the REC guys arent harming the big breeders like the commercial guys do. BIG Differnce
I remember in the early 80s my old man on a inshore trawler out here in the Bay, he took photos of the net floating to the surface full of snapper 20lb plus. The net was that full they towed it back to port and used a crane to lift it. it holed on the way and they used make shift gaffs with wood and nails to gaff huge snapper floating on the water. he came home with 3 fis between 22-26lb.
thats what fucked the fishery in nelson bays, its only now recovered ....REC guys will never fuck it. (plus snapper travel and even thou many are caught in the BAY they not living in the BAY all year, theres always snapper coming and going from a huge area.

The COMMERCIAL guys were raping it and people were calling for blood

Um that was in the 80s and if things are finally recovering then that's a good thing and no one want to ruin that recovery.

Snapper do live in the bay all year, you just need to know where to look eh, I have witnessed "us Recs" keeping everything they catch often.

I witnessed one boat at the ramp last year with 6 people on-board and 60 snapper (among the other fish) all just legal size. Moast of the folks I talked to that day had in their words "got their limit"

I have a foot in both camps with my job but neither side is squeaky clean and we need to acknowledge that.

Here ya go,
nelson-marlborough-and-west-coast-could-see-snapper-catch-increase

A proposal to increase snapper catch in the Top of the South has been applauded by Marlborough's recreational fishers.

The Ministry for Primary Industries proposed the total allowable commercial catch in the Top of the South, and most of the West Coast, be increased from 200 to 250 tonnes.

The recreational catch in the area would be increased by 160 tonnes, from 90 tonnes to 250 tonnes.

Marlborough Recreational Fishers' Association president Peter Watson said he welcomed the review.

Watson said there were snapper fish in the outer Sounds but environmental factors, such as run-off from industries on the land and temperature change, were causing snapper not to venture further in.

"The fish are definitely there," Watson said.

A discussion document said there would be a tailored management plan that would attempt to assess the Marlborough Sounds snapper fishery, which was not experiencing the same catch trends as Golden Bay or Tasman Bay.

Only 7 per cent of commercial snapper catch came from the Marlborough Sounds.

The discussion paper said the increase would not be putting the rebuild of the fishery at risk

Watson said there was "definitely room" for the government's suggestion to increase the commercial catch as well.

Marlborough Marine Futures chairman Eric Jorgensen, who was on the snapper consultation group for the review, said he was not aware of anyone specifically targeting the fish commercially in Marlborough.

The commercial increase would not have any affect on Marlborough, he said.

In addition to new recreational and commercial limits a 25-tonne mortality allowance would also be introduced, and customary fishers would see their catch increased from 16 tonnes to 20 tonnes each year.

Current regulations said there was a recreational daily bag limit of 10 snapper per person in zone 7, but only three in the Marlborough Sounds area.

Watson wanted to see a bag limit of five per person across the Top of the South area, he said.

"[Nelson fishers] are not playing ball with looking after the resource," he said.

There were snapper fish present near d'Urville Island in the Marlborough Sounds, but Nelson fishermen came and caught them, he said.

Long-time Marlborough recreational fisher Tony Orman said anyone who went fishing could catch blue cod, but snapper required skill to capture.

Recreational fishing did not have such an impact on the snapper population, Orman said

When the government cut the recreational snapper fishing quota they did not make any reduction in the commercial quota, and the review seemed to be addressing that injustice, he said.

The paper said the proposed new recreational allowance would be better aligned with the estimated current catches, and the ratio between commercial and recreational fisheries would shift from 70:30 to 50:50.

A stock assessment showed the biomass in the overall area had increased rapidly since 2012.

"Recreational harvest is predicted to have tripled between the last estimate and the upcoming fishing year," the paper said.

A Marlborough District Council spokeswoman declined to comment, saying the matter was a government issue.

Submissions on the document close on July 11.

- The Marlborough Express

Originally Posted by mikee

Here ya go,
nelson-marlborough-and-west-coast-could-see-snapper-catch-increase

I am unclear on what is being said here?

Commercial catch is to increase from 200 to 250t?
I am ok with that if there is no other change but the article goes on with anecdotal blithering?
Will there be a bag limit of 5 in the bay?
I hope not....commercial catch should be zero before that happens.

I am not anti commercial....it was my living for ten years but the ability of any NZ citizen to catch a fish far out weighs in importance "sir are you fucking kidding me" Peter Talleys ability so buy out an entire valley for exclusive trout fishing rights IMO.

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

I am unclear on what is being said here?

Commercial catch is to increase from 200 to 250t?
I am ok with that if there is no other change but the article goes on with anecdotal blithering?
Will there be a bag limit of 5 in the bay?
I hope not....commercial catch should be zero before that happens.

I am not anti commercial....it was my living for ten years but the ability of any NZ citizen to catch a fish far out weighs in importance "sir are you fucking kidding me" Peter Talleys ability so buy out an entire valley for exclusive trout fishing rights IMO.

Recreational Tac is increasing by 160t to 250t same as comms BUT Marlborough Rec's want a 5 fish limit across the entire area as Nelson Fishos are catching their fish or thats how I read it anyway