UPDATES
26 May 2020 – Minister’s decision on CRA2 recreational fishing regulations
Following consultation, the Minister of Fisheries has made decisions on 2 measures proposed by the National Rock Lobster Management Group for recreational fishers in the CRA2 (Hauraki Gulf/Bay of Plenty) rock lobster fishery.
The minister has decided to:
- reduce the recreational daily bag limit from 6 to 3 spiny rock lobsters to help ensure recreational catch does not exceed the 34-tonne recreational allowance that was set from April 2018
- introduce recreational telson (tail fan) clipping for spiny rock lobster to assist with minimising illegal take.
These measures will apply from 1 July 2020. They follow on from significant reductions to the commercial and recreational allowances from 1 April 2018 to support a rebuild of this important shared fishery from low levels of abundance.
Documents about the decision
Decision document [PDF, 1.3 MB]
Appendix 3: CRA2 Submissions [PDF, 7.1 MB]
The new CRA2 measures [PDF, 310 KB]
Reducing the recreational bag limit
From 1 July 2020, the recreational daily bag limit will be reduced from 6 to 3 spiny rock lobsters.
The combined recreational daily bag limit for spiny rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) and packhorse rock lobster (Sagmariasus verreauxi) is 6 lobsters. But from 1 July 2020, a maximum of 3 lobsters can be spiny rock lobster, and the remainder (up to a total of 6 lobsters) can be packhorse rock lobster. This means that 6 packhorse rock lobsters could still be harvested if no spiny rock lobsters are taken at the same time.
Introducing telson clipping
The telson is the central part of the tail fan on a rock lobster. Telson clipping is a way of marking spiny rock lobster to make it clear that they have been recreationally caught and are not for sale. One-third of the telson is cut off so that it is noticeably shorter than the other sections of the tail fan.
From 1 July 2020, once a fisher has checked that a lobster is legal size and is not subject to any other protections (such as carrying eggs) they must immediately cut one-third off the central telson. A person must not possess any spiny rock lobster taken from within the CRA2 area if it has not had one-third of the central telson cut off.
Telson clipping can be done with a knife or scissors and is like clipping your fingernails.
Labelled diagram of a telson-clipped lobster [PDF, 551 KB]
Related consultation
The CRA 5 (Canterbury/Marlborough) rock lobster fishery decisions
24 April 2020 – Regulation changes delayed
Regulation changes for CRA2 were delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
18 December 2019 – Changes on the fishing regulations
Any changes to the CRA2 (Hauraki Gulf/Bay of Plenty) rock lobster fishing regulations will likely come into effect in April 2020. A full announcement of any regulation changes for rock lobster is expected in late February.
Background to this consultation
Fisheries New Zealand consulted on 2 measures proposed by the National Rock Lobster Management Group for recreational fishers in the CRA2 (Hauraki Gulf/Bay of Plenty) rock lobster fishery.
- A reduction to the recreational daily bag limit from 6 to 3 spiny rock lobsters to help ensure recreational catch does not exceed the new 34-tonne recreational allowance.
- The introduction of recreational telson (tail fan) clipping for spiny rock lobster to assist with minimising illegal take.
These measures followed on from significant reductions to the commercial and recreational catch allowances from 1 April this year to support a rebuild of this very important shared fishery.
We sought your feedback on the proposals, which were detailed in the consultation document. The consultation ran from 7 November to 19 December 2018.
Map of the CRA2 fishery [PDF, 1.3 MB]
Consultation document
Proposed recreational measures for the CRA 2 rock lobster fishery [PDF, 1.4 MB]
If you can’t open the document or would like printed copies, email FMSubmissions@mpi.govt.nz
Find out more about the CRA2 review and changes so far
Submissions are public information
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Tell us if you think there are grounds to withhold specific information in your submission. Reasons might include that it's commercially sensitive or it's personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold information can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may tell us to release it.
