FISHING AND TRAWLING

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 3, Issue 263, 27 January 1941, Page 5

FISHING AND TRAWLING

REGULATIONS DEFINED

WHAKATANE AND OHOPB

In response to the enquiry from the Ohope Progress andi Ratepayers' League as to the exact nature of the Fishing andl Trawling Regulations covering Ohope and Wlvakatane we have pleasure in printing details, which in view of the number of letters coming forward from time to time with regard to Ohope* will be of interest to our readers.

We publish extracts o£ the Gazette framed in October 1939, and therelore the latest available. Dealing ■with, seine fishing Fart i) sub paragraph 19, clause (b) reads: No person shall use a Danish seine net for taking fish within the waters of Ohiwa harbour within a distance of two nautical miles from low water mark of the shore, that extends from a point on the coast at the mouth of the Waiaua River, approximately five miles east of Opotiki, to a point on the coasts three miles westward of Matata.

Amplifying the position with regard to type of craft, a further clause states that part of these regulations shall not apply to vessels which have an overall length of less than 40ft and which was built at any time prior to the 4th. of March, 1938. x ;. Describing in detail the area completely protected the regulations stiplate —(a) The waters of the Wha katane Harbour and that area of sea within the arc of a circle having a radius of one nautical mile from the signal station of Kilii Point, (b) The waters of Ohiwa Harbour and that area ol the sea within the arc of a circle having a radius of two nautical miles.from the northeasternmost point of the western entrance to the Ohiwa River, (c) The waters of the Opotiki Harbour and that area of the sea within the arc of a circle having a radius of two nautical miles from the north-east-ernmost point of the western entrance of the Opotiki River. Ohope not Protected.

From the above it is very obvious that Ohope Beach is not protected other than from fishing operations by trawlers over 40ft in length:. The whole length of the beach with the exception of the defined area at the entrance of the Ohiwa Harbour is therefore open for trawlers under the length stipulated. These boats are at liberty Lo trawl the shores of the Bay of Plenty Avith the exception of three limited areas named in the gazette. The 40ft limit is apparently imposed in the hope that some degree of protection Avill be given but from observations, the reverse is the ease for A T essels a feiAV feet under this length continue to operate freely and regularly scour the full length of the beach, reaping the harvest from the rich feeding grounds close in-shore and depriving the shore fisherman from indulging in a sport for A\ r hich Ohope Avas once famed.

Plight of the Maoris

While AA T e admit that the Maoris are not so numerous at Ohope as they were a feAV years ago, they are nevertheless still there and many of them during the Aveelt-ends come from inland in order to take fish from tlieir traditional grounds. The sea has for centuries provided the Maoris Avith a very important part of their diet, and it is part of the Government's ijolicy to give the native race continued access to these sources of foods which haA r e been available to tliem for so long. TJncfisliing from t,hc shore cannot disturb the A r ast supply to any extent, but if these feeding grounds are to b© regularly v«isited by trawlers, 30ft, 40ft or 50ft, the si>pply will soon be depleted and Avhat has b»en for •enturies a rich store of stable food for t«he Maoris, avill go the same Avaj of so many other fishing grounds in New Zealand, a natural feeding ground ruined through unnecessary greed and kick of protection .