Cockle Bay full-year shellfish ban begins
1 min read
The ban replaces the previous seasonal restriction and will be reviewed after a period of three years. Photo: Mark in New Zealand licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
A full year-round closure has been placed to the recreational harvesting of shellfish on east Auckland’s Cockle Bay/Tuwakamana beach from 1 May 2021.
The ban replaces the previous seasonal restriction and will be reviewed after a period of three years.
The year-round ban will help the cockle population to recover, says Fisheries New Zealand’s manager inshore fisheries north, Jacob Hore.
“We use the best available science and information to determine if changes are required to management settings to ensure our fisheries remain sustainable.
“Recent information has shown a decline in the number of large cockles in the area, which also supports information we have received from the community. This information, along with feedback through public consultation, shaped our advice to the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries on his decision to implement a full year-round closure at Cockle Bay/Tuwakamana.”
The closure bans the recreational harvesting of any intertidal shellfish, including cockles, green lipped mussels, oysters, crabs, limpets, starfish, periwinkles, whelks, barnacles, and snails.
Signs in the area have been updated to advise people of the new restrictions. Fishery officers regularly patrol the beach and will be supporting the introduction of the closure through monitoring, education, and, where appropriate, enforcement.
