Parts of that report seem at odds with the recreational catch, which by all accounts was very good this year, same as last..
I disagree.
FISH
I have been fishing the HG for the last 10yrs, all yr round 25 to 35 trips per yr.
Yes never failed to bring home a feed.
There is an old rec fishing saying " 5% of rec fishermen catch 95% of the rec catch.
Yes in the last 4yrs in particular there have been more snapper and larger, but at the same time.. unscientific a lot more at the ramp with no or bad catches...
Mark Twain said " Luck is directly proportional to the effort put in"
I and other fishermen who consistently do well keep records of times, day , month, the tides, location , water temps and few other things. We have a historical record so we can drop onto a few spots that may start to be 'working on the way to the targeted spot. Again recording these.
The general rec fisherman may have 3 to 5 trips per yr over summer.. not the best fishing season...and reason for goi8ng .."oh nice day, lets go for a fish (at 10am, back by 3pm) with no idea of the tides, currents, or even if a weather bomb expected later in the day.
Throw into this mix a social media that ppl boast their exceptional catch and no mention of the failures.
So we catch, and to all appearances there seems more fish when there is not.
60s , the huge, acres of fish working bait fish.. Trevelly, KY, kingfish, even snapper , the gurnard and other species under that.. right inside the harbour to way out into the HG.
Thu the fishing is still far better now than in the 70s and 80s pre QMS and 12 mile economic zone.. it was decimated back then, except for shell fish.
I have rec fished the HG from the late 50s , the 60s .. sold my boat mid 70s cause no fish, and began again around 10yrs ago.
BIRDS":
I have posted here on several occasions over the yrs about significant dropping in numbers of flocks of terns and gannets. Big drops in the number of shags and other species that used to sit off the stern of the boat.
How we can now feed these , often my hand , or nearly by hand because they are hungry
The Now MT roosting, breading spots that used to have every ledge full, off the bottom end of Waiheke, Pakatoa, Down to Ponui and the seaward side of shag rock.
And how the bait fish used to cause the sounder to complete white out.. now even the bait fish balls are few and far between and far smaller.
The issue for birds and fish is not rec fishing or commercial fishing or a QMS system at fault.
It is the people who have been administer the laws and regulations that the above work within.
The limits on bait fish.. none..
no bait fish no birdsIndustry self regulation and voluntary practices... Political BS to put off the inevitable decisions
We have sen this on supermarket bags and packaging...making a financial killing while doing so. The technology, the systems had been in place yrs ago, the professional politicians just don't have the balls to do the right thing.
Same goes for climate change..and its been going and governments doing it on for centuries... it proven that it works and is profitable... for politicians and industry... world wide.