New Zealand World Comment

I have serious concerns about the state of the New Zealand Fishery over the last 10 years or more but things have deteriorated to such an extent I wrote to the Minister prior to Xmas 2007 and my letter to her has become quite public due to her need to consult Fish and Game etc. So I hace copied the letter below so that other anglers can also understand my concerns.

The Minister of Conservation.

Parliament Buildings
PO Box 18-041
Wellington

Dear Minister

I write to you as I am extremely concerned by the excessive pressures now being placed on the Wilderness sports fishery and I believe the matter is now urgently requiring radical measures to protect it.
I believe the fishery which is a very finite resource is already overfished in many places and is a shadow of what it was 20 years ago. This is not bought about by environmental factors but by a surge in overseas interests targeting this precious resource.

I have a long history as a full time professional guide as well as an even longer association with the management of the sports fishery in New Zealand and therefore I have been in a good position to have witnessed the demise of this internationally acclaimed resource.
I started as professional fishing guide in 1979 and have worked full time as such since and have travelled much of the country in pursuit of fishing for my clients.
I have also had a long association with the Acclimatisation Societies having sat on the Wellington Society Council in the 1970’s as well as various roles of chairman of committees etc. In later years I was appointed to the Interim New Zealand Fish and Game Council and Eastern Region council and then went on to spend many years in various roles on the NZ Fish and Game Council and on Eastern and Hawkes Bay Councils. I am currently one of your appointees on the Taupo Fishery Advisory Committee. I have also been an executive member of the New Zealand Professional Fishing Guides Assn for many years and am past national president of the NZ Hunting Guides Assn.

I have always held the welfare of the fishery first believing that a viable and healthy fishery would sustain a limited visitor fishery over and above the New Zealand anglers expectations.

In the 1980’s we usually only visited “wilderness fisheries” two or three times a year or sometimes even less and the fishery showed little change except for “environmental factors” such as cyclone Bola. There were so many rivers to visit we were spoilt for choice but today many of these rivers or parts of them have been “converted” into private fisheries causing excessive angling on what is left in the public domain.
The pressures began to take effect during the 1990’s as the number of fishing guides expanded rapidly and many sought to “privatise” rivers or access so as to give their clients better results. Helicopter fishing became more popular as New Zealand was one of the last places in the world where anglers could chase large sighted fish in gin clear water within a wilderness environment. The world wanted it and guides and lodges were born to meet the demand.
As water became “privatised”, ever increasing pressure was placed on those rivers within the DoC estate which did tend to host most of the desired “wilderness fishery”. I believe the fishery was starting to show signs of pressure by mid 1995 resulting in the industry (via the NZPFGA) calling out for some sort of controls leading to the guides licence legislation of 1996.
Failure to implement regulations to establish the licence has left a vacuum allowing overseas interests to move in and much of the “privatised water” has changed hands to “overseas interests” who are now establishing large sporting lodges to host substantial numbers of anglers. They are now pressuring the finite and fragile “wilderness” fishing that we knew and loved.

Last summer season excessive and unsustainable pressure was paced on a number of wilderness rivers in several ways that have seen a rapid decline in the resource. The Lodges are either chartering their own helicopters or basing on site helicopters as they now have sufficient numbers of anglers to make this possible. The established New Zealand independent guiding industry is being displaced by this pressure because of a declining resource and suddenly within the last two years a situation of sustainability has arisen.

Last season one Urewera River I have guided on for 25 years was under so much pressure on a daily basis that I had to give it away. This river was capable of producing large numbers of trout on every trip and has done so for years. Two years ago it became hard to justify the cost of a helicopter as the fish were under considerable stress and I was shocked to find out that this river and others were being visited almost on a daily basis. This season 2007 was even worse to the extent that clients who have fished these rivers for 25 years are now saying please lets not go there again. (I am happy to provide you with more detailed evidence and phone numbers ect of people who you can contact.)

I wrote a paper for the New Zealand Professional Fishing Guides Assn about this situation and received an overwhelming response from members supporting my views on this matter. The situation is being repeated all over New Zealand but Fish and Game seem to be lagging behind in assessing the situation.

As of this week I have learnt that a very wealthy US businessman has secured exclusive rights to one of the central North Island wilderness rivers displacing another of the “overseas” Sporting Lodges who previously held the exclusive rights.. Their response already signalled is to increase the pressure even more on what waters are left in public hands.

There are four different participants that are accessing the resource and they are:
1. The New Zealand angler. Today New Zealanders in ever increasing numbers are wanting to experience theses unique fisheries and now make up a considerable part of the client base of New Zealand Guides. These fisheries belong to New Zealanders, exist because New Zealanders went without to protect these special rivers though the developing years. Now when New Zealanders are in a position to afford time or access to them they increasingly find access is an issue or the fishery is not worth visiting due to excessive over fishing.
2. New Zealand based fishing Guides. Fishing guides discovered the market for these fisheries and successfully marketed the desire to fish such special places. As a result and in the Kiwi way everyone wanted to be in on it causing an issue with numbers but “Kiwi Guides” have tended to respect the unwritten code of ‘not to frequent visits’ and the welfare of the resource mostly because their clients return annually.
3. Unguided overseas anglers. These people are one of the problems causing a lot of the pressure, often they are overseas guides with clients or past clients who realised the key to the fishery was the helicopter and not the guide. They contribute little to the New Zealand economy but are becoming an integral part of its demise. Outward bound tourism figures from the Australian Tourism Board show a dramatic leap in Australian anglers leaving to fish overseas and New Zealand is the destination of most. The Australian Fly fishing fraternity now look upon New Zealand as a domestic fishery and this can only get worse with trans Tasman air travel competition and the ongoing drought in Australia. New Zealand now has many Australia guides bringing parties here.
4. Overseas angling interests. These are the new boys on the block buying up “private water” or “access” at an alarming rate and building Sporting Lodges for the wealthy to fly out from every morning. While these places do often use New Zealand guides they have increased the pressure on the resource way past the threshold. The guides often have little say in where they go and as they are effectively employees they pretty much do what they are told.

Conclusion.
I believe you must act urgently to save the “wilderness fishery of New Zealand”. The rest of the world destroyed theirs and now the rest of the world is about to destroy what we have left.

I suggest you must use the opportunity presented by the guides licence to get some control on the industry. By doing so you can effectively measure and control the viability of the resource.
You must limit the number of licensed guides to reflect the diminishing resource. By limiting numbers of guides you can at least match the “effort” with the sustainability of the resource. This a sustainability issue and while the cap can be flexible it should be set in response to the health of the fishery.
You need to effectively stamp out this ability to set up a guiding business based on “privatising water”. This is contrary to the New Zealand way of life and it should be part of the Guides Licence that they not participate in private water. If guides were “disciplined” or de-licensed as a result of “privatising water” then combined with a capped number this would effectively quash all “privatised water”.
I also suggest you seriously look at restricting who can fish these “wilderness” fisheries and this resource should be identified and overseas anglers should be restricted to having to access the identified fisheries with a licensed guide. Again this is sustainability issue. These are finite resources which cannot sustain the pressure the “world” can and is placing on them.

I believe it is imperative that Fish and Game move quickly to address this problem as it is happening at an alarming rate. From what I have witnessed and assessed in the last two years I am sure a rapid decline is in motion and by the end of the 2008 season it will start to impact on the whole economics of “fishing” from the management and funding of such through to the tourism spend.

Yours Faithfully
Alan Simmons

PS: To Assist you I have attempted to list below some of the rivers and places that we fished with clients around 1985 which are now restricted by way of private payments for access.
This is solely central North Island and I have not listed any South Island rivers but my information leads me to believe the problem is just as bad in areas.

1. Some Urewera Rivers are difficult to fish with overseas clients because of threats and intimidation by locals on horseback. We have received many threats and have had rifles pointed at us. They claim its private land.
2. Waipunga River in Places. Maori land access, lodges have access by paying for exclusive use.
3. Upper Ripia River. Access sold to private concerns.
4. Ikawatea River. Fishing rights sold to Helicopter company for new luxury lodges clients.
5. Ngaruroro River. A lot of this river is sold to helicopter companies and access is by way of a fee or used exclusively by Lodges.
6. Wanganui at Whagapeki. This part of the river used to be freely accessed but is now sold as private access, Guides who fish on this river pay a rate of $100.00 per rod per day.
7. Taruarau. All of this river has been sold to fishing guides or helicopter companies for lodge clients.
8. Pueto River. Public access to the true right was closed and I understand a Taupo based guiding company was paying $15.00 per person to drive through . Now access to the true left has been closed as is access to the upper river due to dairy conversion of the Central north Island. This was a favourite fishery for the children of Taupo.
9. Mohaka River. Sections of this river are either in private hands or are subject to payment of a daily fee.
10. Hautapu. Freely used by anglers in 1980’s. This river was sold by the Forestry company and used exclusively by a fishing lodge. Now days it has been bought for exclusive access for a Rotorua based fishing guide by a wealthy overseas client.
12. Rangitiki River. Sections of this icon river are controlled by Ngamatea station for private fishing as well other parts of the river are also closed because of private arrangements.
13. Magamaire Private use.
14. Te Hoe. Same as the Hautapu although the top end is in DoC lands you can’t access it for fishing because access is not granted through the station and helicopters won’t fly you due to an agreement with owners.
15. Mangatainoka. Much of this is closed and fished by Poronui Ranch.
16. Mokomukuhu River. Closed for private fishing lodges clients.
17. Mangamingi River,. Same as 15.
18. Otupua. Only fishable by payment of a daily fee.
20. Whakapapa River. Areas which can be accessed only though certain farms are closed off and available only to a guide subject to payment. Anglers are warned to leave and told that management rights have been granted to a Turangi based guiding company.

The list goes on but hopefully this will start to show you the extent of the problem.