News in Brief: September 2019
2 min read
ChCh fish and chip shop refuses to sell tarakihi
A Christchurch fish and chip shop has refused to sell terakihi until stocks recover and is urging other businesses to follow suit over fears for the species’ survival.
Business owner Anton Matthews says he has been recently made aware of the low levels of tarakihi—Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) says stock levels of in some areas are as low as 16 percent—and has immediately stopped selling it.
Marine pest spotted on Great Barrier Island
A potentially serious marine pest has been recorded in New Zealand for the first time.
Clavelina oblonga, a type of sea squirt, was discovered in the waters around Great Barrier Island, north-east of Auckland. The council’s biodiversity advisor, Samantha Happy, was working with Biosecurity NZ to find out more about the marine pest.
Sea lions plan
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is inviting members of the public for feedback on its proposal to manage Auckland Island squid fishery to protect the local sea lion population.
The proposal includes options on the maximum impact fishing can have on the sea lion population before the fishery is closed for the season; the proportion of fishing trips that are required to have a government observer on-board; and rules around the use of sea lion exclusion devices to ensure that if a sea lion does enter a trawl net that it has the best possible chance of escaping and surviving.
For more information, visit fisheries.govt.nz.
Dead sharks washed up on Nelson beach
About 20 sharks were spotted stranded by Joanna Wallace and a Brightwater Playcentre excursion group during a school trip to Rabbit Island.
According to Stuff, the sharks were identified by Department of Conservation marine technical advisor Clinton Duffy as a mic of adult spiny dogfish and one carpet shark. While the sharks had no apparent injuries to reveal the cause of death, Duffy said that the sharks were more likely to have been caught in fishing nets and discarded, as they do not mass strand naturally.
