Update from LegaSea - March 2023

Coromandel scallops are now off the menu for the foreseeable future as the Minister has closed the last remaining commercial scallop beds.

This is the end of a long process that began with a brave move by Coromandel iwi, Ngāti Hei, to place a rāhui across Opito Bay in 2020 to protect scallops. This was done with the support of community groups, who were equally concerned about the declining scallop beds around the Coromandel.
This triggered a temporary 186A closure application by Ngāti Hei in February 2021. It was approved in September, followed up with rāhui by Ngāti Pāoa and Ngāti Manuhiri across the Hauraki Gulf.

After a number of surveys, the true depletion of our scallops from Coromandel to Northland was revealed. Last year, the Northland scallop beds were closed to recreational and commercial fishers. Two beds in the Hauraki Gulf remained open until another survey found they were in trouble. All beds are now closed indefinitely.
We can only hope the damage is not too severe and our scallops will bounce back soon. But we must learn from our mistakes and not let this happen again

Scallops closure

LegaSea is pleased Stuart Nash, the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, has agreed with our February submission and closed the Coromandel scallop fishery indefinitely, as of last Friday.
The scallop fishery extends from Leigh in the north, through the Hauraki Gulf and down to Maketū in the Bay of Plenty.

This area is closed to commercial and recreational scallop harvesting. Māori customary fishing is still permitted although a rāhui restricts harvest in many areas of the fishery.

This decision is a win to protect the remaining scallops in the fishery. But it's sad that once again officials administering the Quota Management System have failed to reduce catch in a timely manner. Consequently, severe depletion means a closure is the only remaining option.

The signals of serial depletion have been clear for 30 years. The protective mechanisms available under the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Act have been available for 23 years. Yet, comparisons of biodiversity loss in successive Hauraki Gulf Forum reports since the early 2000s are damning.

The cavalier management attitude towards our scallops means there is no commercial scallop fishery left in our coastal waters. Hunting for maximum catches while ignoring the variable nature of scallop fisheries was never going to end well.

Joint recreational February scallop submission here.

Minister's decision letter here.

LegaSea media release here.

Hauraki Gulf campaign

Last month over 7000 New Zealanders united to submit against the draft Hauraki Gulf Fisheries Plan, compiled by Fisheries New Zealand (FNZ) supposedly as a means to deliver a healthier marine environment.  
Instead, the plan contains few meaningful or time-bound actions to achieve any restoration or increase in biodiversity. FNZ's proposals will allow bottom trawling, scallop dredging, and Danish seining to continue in the Park, despite ongoing damage caused by these fishing methods.

It is not progressive to have a plan advocating for a healthier marine environment while allowing ongoing damage to benthic habitats and communities.

The positive news is over 30,000 people have already signed the Hauraki Gulf Alliance petition calling for a ban on destructive fishing methods. Thanks to all of you who signed the petition and/or made a submission.

There is increasing pressure on the Government to get trawling and dredging out of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. Now it's up to Minister Stuart Nash to decide on the fate of FNZ's draft plan.

Will he do the right thing and ban destructive fishing methods from the Gulf?  

We need to show the Government there is a growing public appetite for banning bottom trawling and dredging from Gulf waters. If you haven't already, please sign the petition here.

Card Sharks are coming in a pizza pack near you!

In partnership with Turkish Bread and Marine Deals, we have just launched our exciting new education initiative called Card Sharks. Go into any major supermarket nationwide and look for the Turkish Bread pizza bases. Inside you will find three different sharks or rays cards to collect.
Plus there is a prize card to win one of 200 instant prizes of a $50 Marine Deals voucher and to go into the draw to win one of 10 inflatable stand-up paddle boards worth $1000 each. All these prizes have been generously donated by Marine Deals.

Auckland Boat Show - on this week

This week the Auckland Boat Show returns with a new format and venue. The show will take place in Jellicoe Harbour, previously the America's Cup team bases. This year it showcases more than 200 domestic and international marine businesses, including dozens of vessel manufacturers and boat brokers.
LegaSea will be in attendance at the True Kit stand, outside on Stand 18. Come along and and chat with the team about the issues facing our fisheries.

The show starts 10am on Thursday 23rd March and wraps up Sunday 26th at 5pm. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online at https://www.auckland-boatshow.com/

The LegaSea Summer Photo Competition

Over summer we ran our annual photo competition encouraging you to take some snaps of their interactions with the New Zealand coastline.
Despite the poor weather in many parts of the country, we still received many phenomenal entries and found it much too difficult to decide the winners.

So, the NZ Fishing News team have stepped up to judge a winner in each of the categories. They will be announcing the category winners in the next issue of New Zealand Fishing News - on sale from 27 March. We will announce the overall winner at the same time.

Thank you so much to those who entered - showcasing the marine environment in a variety of ways will help us bolster our communications with outstanding imagery this year.

New Partner Update

We're excited to announce another major international fishing brand has joined LegaSea and our fight to restore marine abundance.
PENN is a common name in the recreational fishing space and recognised as one of the best in the business with millions of experienced anglers around the world putting their faith in PENN products every day.

We welcome PENN and their team as LegaSea GOLD partners and we look forward to working with them to protect our oceans and our fish!

PENN products can be purchased at all major retail outlets across the country. When you buy a PENN product, have knowledge that they're playing their role in conserving fish for the benefit of future generations.

Champion filleter

Recently, Seafood NZ and the Indulge Festival ran a fish filleting competition and invited some of the top filleters in Auckland. The Kai Ika Project's Sitiveni was invited to showcase his talent and put it to the test against people from commercial fishing companies Sanford and Moana.
The event consisted of processing 10 snapper averaging at around 1kg each. The competition was not only based on speed but also fillet recovery rate and quality.

We're excited to announce that Sitiveni was a cut above the rest and walked away with the 'Golden Filleter' award, beating all other contestants across all scoring categories.

Total fish = 10
Total time = 6 mins 13 secs
Total recovery = 37%

We're extremely proud of Sitiveni and this supports our viewpoint that The Kai Ika Project has the best filleters in New Zealand!

A video of the impressive result can be FOUND HERE.

Ngā mihi nui,
Benn and the LegaSea crew

LegaSea appreciates the ongoing support of our Platinum and Gold partners -