The new rules allow some commercial fishing in two of the 12 high protection areas. File photo. Photo: Raewyn Peart
The new Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Act - which comes into force from this weekend - has been watered down and politicised, says recreational fishing advocacy group LegaSea.
LegaSea has accused the government of creating exclusive zones for commercial fishing, as the act allows some commercial fishing in two of the 12 high protection areas, from 25 October.
Aside from customary take, fishing and gathering of shell fish is prohibited in the High Protection Areas (HPAs).
"I'm really nervous about these HPAs because they actually create a dangerous precedent " said LegaSea spokesman Sam Woolford.
"The government has said it's okay for commercial fishing to continue inside a high protected area. Not only have we created that precedent, we've actually created exclusive commercial fishing zones"
[audio ] https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/first-up/audio/2019009103/hauraki-marine-protection-law-in-force-for-labour-weekend
Conservation Minister Tama Potaka has defended the act, and said the legislation balanced the needs of communities, the environment and the economy.
As well as the 12 high protection areas, the act will extend two existing marine reserves and introduce five sea floor protection areas.
Potaka has said the act will usher in a bold new era of marine protection for one of the country's most majestic seascapes.
"For years, communities and people across the political divide have despaired at the effects of the Gulf's long-standing ecological decline leading to desolate kina barrens and habitat loss," he said earlier this month.
Potaka said the public could expect to see tāmure (snapper) and kōura (rock lobster) stocks rebuild in the coming decades, as well as richer kelp forests and seabird colonies.
But LegaSea were not confident the act will prevent the depletion of fish stocks within the gulf.
"The fundamental issues with what's happening to the Hauraki Gulf haven't really been addressed, so land base runoff, overfishing, and destructive fishing techniques are the main stresses. What we're seeing is that, we haven't seen any changes to how fishing can occur both recreationally and commercially."
Woolford said the high protection areas may just move fishing pressure elsewhere and will not limit the amount of fish being caught.
"They're just gonna fish on the edges of the marine reserves. We've just displaced that pressure. We haven't addressed how we're fishing or the amount of fish coming out of the water. We're just simply said you can't fish here."
But others were more positive about the potential of the new rules.
Conrad Pilditch is a Professor of Marine Science at Auckland University, and also the director of the Leigh Marine Laboratory, located at the Goat Island Marine Reserve.
The reserve's area will almost quadruple under the new act.
Pilditch expected the HPA areas to help boost fish numbers, although it will take a significant amount of time.
"The experience at Leigh has shown that if the large snapper come back into the reserve and they remain resident then they can have a significant contribution to the fish stocks outside of the reserve. It's been shown for the little area around Goat Island, it generates as much fish as 10 times of the area outside the reserve."
Anglers Lodge is located just north of Coromandel town, and offers fishing charters as well as accommodation, often taking clients to the nearby Motukawao island group, also known as the Happy Jacks.
From Saturday, the northern most islands will be inside a high protection area.
When contacted by First Up last week, lodge manager Jen Morgan was unaware the act was about to come into force.
"We're pretty disappointed that it went through and seems to have had last minute changes that are positive for commercial fishermen but bad for local community and operators like us."
There were still plenty areas open for fishing close to Anglers Lodge, but Morgan was concerned her customers might not know that.
"We will have to pivot to make sure that we're following the rules. I think the challenge is that with such confusion around what the rules are, maybe that people think it's not a possibility at all. So we'll have to try and communicate that and make sure people know that it is still an option on some of the islands."
Enforcement of the HPAs will be managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), with support from fisheries officers.
DOC marine operations manager Kirsty Prior said the department had 15 new permanent staff and 13 seasonal staff tasked with educating the public.
She said DOC will also be working with electronic chart providers to get the Hauraki Protection Area and Seafloor Protection Area boundaries added to chart plotters and other apps.
Signage is also being installed around boat ramps and entry point to protection areas.
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