have serious concerns about the 
broad scope of the proposals and 
the blanket approach in treating 
east and west coasts the same.
The proposed measures would 
ban recreational harvest of a wide 
range of invertebrate and shellfish 
species, including squid and rock 
lobster.  Squid aren’t known to be 
under any harvesting pressure, and 
rock lobster management is already 
being addressed through separate in-
depth fisheries processes and tools 
alongside expert fisheries scientists.
The proposed closure boundary 
would extend 200m offshore and 
cover Auckland east coast beaches, 
Waiheke Island, Coromandel 
coastline, and parts of the west 
coast, including Piha and Muriwai.
The reason for the extensive 
closure is to try to prevent fishing 
effort from shifting from one area 
to another.  The west coast is a 
vastly different environment. Some 
of the shoreline is difficult to access 
on foot and does not experience 
the same intensity of harvesting 
pressure seen in sheltered east 
coast locations. Applying the 
same harvest restrictions on both 
coasts may be unnecessary.
Local councils have highlighted the 
devastating effects of sedimentation, 
extreme weather events and warming 
temperatures have had on species 
such as cockles.  Photo Amber Jones
For a nation surrounded by ocean and 
diverse coastline, it’s a blight on us all that 
our ability to gather kaimoana is steadily 
shrinking.  Photo Haylee Tehuia-Claxton
 /FISHINGINGODZONE  41

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