Listen Now: 
September 21, 2021
Ministry backs Coromandel scallop rāhui
Ellyce McLeod
Posted On September 21, 2021
Download AudioJust in time for the start of the commercial scallop harvest, the Fisheries Ministry has given official backing to a rāhui on the eastern Coromandel fishery.
Rino Tirikatene, the Parliamentary Undersecretary of Oceans and Fisheries, praised the leadership of Ngāti Hei, which won widespread support from the community and some commercial operators for the closure.
He says under the Fisheries Act temporary closures can be put in place to preserve stocks and rebuild customary fisheries.
“The main thing we want to achieve now is there is a complete closure on that eastern side for wo years and we certainly hope over that period the beds will get a good rest and hopefully we will be able to get some more science and understand what is going on and give the opportunity for the fishery to rebuild,”Mr Tirikatene says.
Other scallop fisheries, especially those around Te Tau Ihu in Nelson and Golden Bay, are also in a poor state.
RELATED NEWS
