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.
Waimakariri district plan faces more delays amid changing rules
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
Changing Government legislation is causing headaches for council staff, as Waimakariri’s new District Plan is set to be delayed again.
Waimakariri District Council development planning manager Matt Bacon said he was relieved when the last of the public hearings ended last week.
But with final council reports due on December 13, staff will have just two working days to present the final District Plan on December 17. A district plan helps to control and manage the development of the district or city.
‘‘We are working through what it looks like and we will update the council at its meeting on December 3,’’ Bacon said.
‘‘But we will likely seek another extension from the environment minister and the Resource Management Act (RMA) minister.’’
The council first notified its draft District Plan in September 2021, but within months legislation was introduced with new medium density residential housing standards (MDRS).
‘‘We needed to call for further submissions and we had to create a separate hearing panel to consider the plan variations to allow for the MDRS,’’ Bacon said.
‘‘We have tried to merge the process as much as possible, as well as looking at re-zoning and incorporating other new legislation.’’
When the draft plan was first notified there was no National Policy Statement (NPS) for Indigenous Biodiversity, but an NPS was introduced - and then replaced.
The Natural and Built Environment Act came into being last year and then repealed, and then there is the NPS on Urban Development and the Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan.
The Government is now working on more RMA reforms and Environment Canterbury is working on the Canterbury Regional Policy Statement.
And then there is the Fast-Track Approvals Bill, which includes three proposed housing developments in Waimakariri - two of them outside of the future urban development areas identified in the Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan.
All three housing developments in the Bill have been included in submissions to the District Plan, including a proposed 850-home development at Ohoka, near Rangiora, which is also subject to an Environment Court appeal.
‘‘We haven’t seen the detail, so whether it is the same proposals, we don’t know, but they are different processes so we have to just keep doing what we are doing, until we are told otherwise,’’ Bacon said.
‘‘It might just be a timing thing, but we just don’t know.’’
Bacon said delaying the District Plan until new legislation is in place is not an option.
‘‘We are looking at what we can control and having a watching brief, and we will look at transitional timings because we don’t always have to immediately change planning documents when new legislation comes in.’’
Planning manager Wendy Harris said navigating changing Government legislation is a normal part of council planning work.
‘‘If we waited we wouldn’t do anything and we would go nowhere.’’
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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The tiger who came to tea
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