[Miliwolf]

The Marlborough sounds cod fishery has been in dire need of serious protection for a long time. Many recreation fishers continue to denied the issue. The 3 cod limit help slightly to slow the decline but it was not enough.

Mfish has announced a new proposals to try and save the Blue Cod fishery…. and it might just work.

The main plan is to close the inner Queen Charlotte Sound including Tory channel (Basically the entire area where the cook strait ferry sails through) and also to close a large part of the Pelorus sounds for at least three years. Hopefully they would keep a large part closed permanently.

They also propose to decrease the daily bag limit to 2 cod a day and have a limit of 6 cod per boat per day… Also to limit fishers to only 1 days bag limit on multi-day fishing trips and to land all fish whole or gutted. Also the fisher must keep all cod above the minimum size until 2 are caught.

http://www.fish.govt.nz/en-nz/Press/MSBC.htm

In general I agree with the proposal. About time mfish gets tough.

Although have a few main issues….

I would like to see the area closed for more then three years… Why not keep a few bays closed permanently.

What steps would be done to protect other species? Grouper would get a hammering.

I agree with closing the inner sounds for Blue Cod fishing, but that area can be productive for Snapper, Gurnards and KY. Although these species are also present in the Keneperu.

[quote:14eyyuni] Limiting all hook and line fishers to one hook per line and using only large hooks (6/0 or greater) to avoid catching small fish.

I prefer to use 3/0 hooks for my softplastics, using a 6/0 hook would destroy the action…….. The same applies to my jigs. A rather short sighted proposal…. What about targeting fishing with small mouths such as mullet, moki and tarakihi?

[quote:14eyyuni]

Setlining to use large hooks of size 10/0 or greater.

Just ban set lining… easier to enforce.

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[Cath]

It’s all well and good to put limits & bans on the recreational fisherman but what about the commercial fishing boats that dredge the bays. Commercial fishing should be banned also in the Marlborough Sounds!

[St_Paul]

well the proposal has gone ahead as a ban on all blue cod in the sounds from october 1st until 2012. good to see they have only put a ban on blue cod and not closed to all hook and line fishing as previously proposed. I’ve been fishing in queen charlotte sound for the last 9 years and have caught only 1 blue cod from the shore in that time.

the cod populations outside the sounds still seem to be in fairly good health and given the rising cost of fuel would expect this to remain so.

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