A whitebaiter expects the tempers of territorial fishers to boil over after new rules that could force fishers cheek-by-jowl in some places.

Whitebaiting at Big Bay.

The government today announced new restrictions for whitebait fishing including a shorter season, restricted areas, and changes to the gear allowed to be used.

Acting Conservation Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said the rules had been decades old and the changes were well overdue.

About 11,500 people weighed in with submissions on the proposals.

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Soon, whitebait nets will only be allowed out of the shed for two months a year - a month and a half shorter than before for most of the country.

Fishing will only be allowed in estuaries and near river mouths, and gear can only take up a quarter of the width of a waterway - rather than a third.

Sue, a keen fisher from Levin, said there were already waterside altercations as fishers vied for their favourite fishing spots.

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The shorter season and fewer areas where fishing could happen would lead to an increase in tensions - and even fisticuffs, she said.

She described an 'I've always fished here so bugger off' sort of attitude.

"It goes [on right now], but not as often as I think it's going to create here."

Sue said if a point of the new regulations was to reduce catch then it would fail because only the law-abiding fishers would follow the rules.

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"Some people fish with more nets and they should - always have and always will - and I don't think they're going to be able to police it."

Other changes include whitebait fishing bans in parts of Abel Tasman and Fiordland national park, a 6m limit on the gear that can be used to guide fish into a net, and a one-net limit.

West Coast Whitebaiters Association president Rob Roney said while many of their members might not like the changes, they were largely in line with what he expected.

He was relieved the Department of Conservation did not bow to pressure from environmental groups for tougher restrictions.

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He claimed statements from those groups were not scientifically sound.

"So we're pleased to say that the department is following a more scientific approach to the management of the fishery."

However, he conceded the scientific data about whitebait fisheries was poor and that was one of the reasons why environmental group Forest & Bird was angry about the new rules.

Spokesperson Annabeth Cohen could not believe the opportunity was missed to bring in a licence to fish, which could generate crucial data about how many people were fishing, where they were doing it, and how much they were catching.

Annabeth Cohen. Photo: RNZ

During the extensive two-year consultation period, many people including fishers said they would support a licence and a majority wanted catch limits, Cohen said.

The new rules allowed the limitless exploitation of endangered species, she said.

"These five beautiful native fish that are so special to New Zealand, and right now the majority of these fish are on the brink.

"So we need the Department of Conservation to do more and act quickly."

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Even the bare minimum of fishery management measures were absent from the rules, she said.

"I guess we're in shock that it's taken this long, and we're still nowhere [near] to where we need to be to properly manage [the] fishery.

Whitebait fritters.

"These are the basics: a license, a catch limit, and some sort of data collection. And we're just baffled as to why the Department of Conservation keeps getting it wrong."

Acting Conservation Minister Ayesha Verrall said DOC had asked to gather more evidence about the state of the fishery, but Cohen said the lack of detail about that gave her no confidence.

The changes will be phased in over three years.

Hamish Cardwell, RNZ

Republished by Arrangement