b'We need to manage coastal fisheries Feature differently from those in deep water to help cod populations.Credit: Legasea/Alan PatersonBCO 5SOUTHLAND &tonnes.In 2024, the overallMeanwhile, theres no FOVEAUX STRAIT recreational catch allowance wasmeaningful crackdown on the Fishing the south coast is hardcut from 85 to 62 tonnes, andindustrial-scale amateur catch graft. The weather, the swell, nextnow were being told our dailybeing quietly siphoned away.stop Auckland Islandsits notlimits need to shrink to match.for the faint-hearted. So, whenLets talk about recreationalBCO 8WEST COAST you finally get out there, youdcatch. Commercial operators areLOWER NORTH ISLANDhope for a fair chance at bringingalso legally allowed to land fishLets be blunt - this fishery is home some fish for the family. as recreational fishers - over thecooked. Commercial landings But Foveaux fisheries are incourse of a year, this adds up tohave collapsed to less than 1 trouble. Overfishing is occurring, and22 tonnes of blue cod. That meanstonne a year, and even thats the 2024 changes to catch limits35% of the recreational allowancejust bycatch. Recreational fishers havent significantly improved theis being caught by commercialhavent had more than a handful of outlook. Sure, its early days - butfishers! Thats not the family having acod on a good day for years. This Fisheries NZ is already proposingSunday fry-up - thats industrial-levelfishery is more evidence that the more recreational cuts. Not becauseextraction sneaking in the side door. Quota Management System has recreational fishers are to blame,Sadly, when commercial catchfailed. It is not fit for purpose.but because officials dont want todrops in one area, they simplyAnd still, no stock assessment. reduce commercial limits any further. move on to the next. OtherwiseNo rebuild plan. No admission The Total Allowable Commercialknown as serial depletion. Itby Fisheries New Zealand that Catch (TACC) was 800 tonnesmakes the data look stable, whilethis fishery might already be but was reduced in 2014 to 580the fish disappear under the radar. gone. What more can we say?40FISHING IN GODZONE MAGAZINE'