News from Legasea - May 17 2023

LegaSea at the Hutchwilco Boatshow

You will find LegaSea at the show this year at stand 161 in the Fishing Hall from Thursday 18 May to Sunday 21 May.
We will be joined again by our Platinum Partner Barkers, who have a brand new LegaSea range they will be selling.

Card Sharks will also be a feature at the LegaSea stand with Platinum Partner Turkish Bread. These cards are being given away in Turkish Bread pizza packs. If you are after a missing card or want to kick-start your collection, we might be able to help you out!

We will also have freshly cooked Turkish Bread pizzas on the stand for you to try.

We have a whole lot to talk to you about this year. From Northland crayfish, to Kaikōura pāua and, of course, bottom trawling in the Hauraki Gulf. There is so much going on in the fisheries space and we're here to tell you all about it.

We will also be running a 'Where's Johnny?' competition. See if you can find where Johnny the John Dory and his scaly mates are hiding and be in to win some great prizes:

1st Prize - Makita Cooler and Radio bundle Value $2300
2nd Prize - Makita Camping bundle Value $1450
3rd Prize - LegaSea X Barkers bundle Value $1000
4th Prize - LegaSea Gear bundle Value $600
5th Prize - Ironclad Pan and Fishing News bundle $550

We will have a big team on the stand this year and we want nothing more than to meet you all and talk about the issues. It really is a great event with lots going on and plenty for the kids to keep entertained.

The Kai Ika filleting master class at the boatshow

Catching fish can be easy, but making sure you get the most out of every fish can be difficult.
Learn the art of fish filleting from The Kai Ika Project through one of our daily masterclass presentations:

Thursday - 12:30pm
Friday - 1:00pm
Saturday - 12:30pm
Sunday - 12:00pm

Pop into our stand afterwards and purchase your very own set of Kai Ika branded Victory Knives - Guaranteed to get you filleting like a pro!

The draft Fisheries Industry transformation plan

Last month Fisheries New Zealand and Seafood NZ launched a Fisheries Industry Transformation plan, aimed at turning the fisheries sector into a more sustainable and valuable industry.
This is a pipe dream. As long as the Quota Management System is in place the commercial fishing industry in New Zealand will remain broke.

Quota owners are collecting all the rent while the people on the water are merely fishing an Annual Catch Entitlement (ACE) to pay the owner's rent. Using low-cost, bulk harvesting destructive fishing techniques that destroy the seabed and decimate our fish stocks.

Now they want us, the public, to fork out for new trawlers when all we want is to get the existing trawl fleet out of our inshore waters. Fisheries New Zealand and Seafood NZ know that bottom trawling is not sustainable. They also know that we, the public, want trawling gone for our inshore waters, so if they think that we will fork out millions of taxpayer dollars for a new fleet of vessels that will ravage our coastline, they are dreaming.  

Any transformation plan needs to provide for small-scale commercial fishing with a light footprint. Our fisheries team is still working through the plan to understand the details.

You find out more and read the plan.

Protecting our seabirds

LegaSea worked alongside the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council, New Zealand Angling & Casting Association and NZ Underwater Association to submit in support of new changes which will mean more protection for our seabird species.
We supported the mandatory use of three mitigation measures on surface longliners, all of which are effective at mitigating seabird bycatch when used together. We await a positive decision from Fisheries New Zealand to hopefully implement these changes, to provide more protection for our declining seabird populations.

You can read our submission here