Dozens of fishermen reportedly breaking new whitebaiting rules at popular Canterbury site
Department of Conservation staff will be patrolling Canterbury’s whitebaiting hotspots amid reports some frequent fishermen are reluctant to follow the new rules.
In June, the then acting Conservation Minister Ayesha Verrall announced changes to whitebaiting regulations, which had last been reviewed in 1990.
The changes, to be phased in over three years, include a shorter season, new regulations and size limits on fishing gear – fixed nets a maximum of three metres long and 20m apart – and restrictions to fishing only in estuaries and near river mouths.
But one Canterbury whitebaiter, a regular around the Waimakariri River mouth who did not want to be named, said he saw upwards of a dozen rule-breakers in the area every day.
The biggest issue, he said, was people using oversized fishing gear – usually set-nets over six metres in length – although he had been told about others fishing past the 8pm limit.
The man said he had made multiple reports to the Department of Conservation (DOC), and had sent photos and car registration numbers, but little had been done in terms of enforcing the rules.
“The rules are in place for a reason ... If they’re doing it here, others are probably doing it elsewhere [too].”
DOC’s Mahaanui operations manager, Andy Thompson. said the new regulations were clear and readily available, and it was disappointing to hear some were not following them.
DOC is undertaking a series of compliance patrols, he said, which include weekends and early-mornings.
Rangers will focus on popular whitebaiting spots including the Waimakariri River mouth.
Thompson encouraged people to phone in if they saw others breaking the rules. All calls would be logged, he said, and used to identify potential problem spots for the next patrol.
When people are not complying, rangers can take either an educational or compliance approach. That could include a $400 fine – or up to $800 if that fine was appealed, or not paid.
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Kalle
"Sports and travelling run in the family, and that's kind of what's led me to come to New Zealand."
"I grew up in a small town in Finland. My dad was involved with sports all his life, he was a shot putter, discus thrower, powerlifter, we traveled quite a bit when I was a kid. He never mentioned much of the rugby days. He just said he broke both of his shin bones playing rugby, so he said, ‘never play the sport, It's crazy.’
I started playing when I was 18. I played my first cap for the Finnish national team in 2014, we won the Finnish championship with my club. Rugby is not a big thing in Finland.
I moved here to play rugby in 2017. The club that wanted me to come over was Methven Rugby Club. They got me here and they were like, ‘what do you do for work? I’d just finished chef school in Finland. ‘We'll get you a job at Mount Hutt as a chef, you can do that while you play rugby with us.’ I said, ‘Perfect. Yeah, I'm in’.
I've always loved food. My mum was an amazing cook, and still is. When I was studying tourism I worked in some hotels in Finland, and I saw how the chef's worked. I just loved the kitchen vibe and I was like, Yeah, that’d be something I'd love to do.
I've had more of a culinary journey In New Zealand than in Finland. I started at Mount Hutt, after that I worked at The Dubliner in Methven. I worked as a senior pizza chef at Sal’s for maybe six months then worked as chef de partie at Cellar Door. At Eliza's Manor, I worked myself up to a junior sous chef. Then the opportunity came to work my first head chef job at Moon Under Water.
We're privileged to have a busy atmosphere, we can try new things and get a bit creative. There are no TV’s, just come here with your family or with your mates, play board games, to socialise.
I really want to drive the local food and ingredients through the menu. We don't mind spending more for quality ingredients as long as it's supporting New Zealand businesses. We just love to use local. And it's pub food, but I feel like it's elevated.
I play club rugby here for the Christchurch Football Club, the oldest club in New Zealand and I still play regularly for the Finnish national team, whenever they can fly me over to play."
- Kalle
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