Blue cod fishing closures extended

Closures in Milford and Doubtful Sounds to amateur fishing for blue cod have been extended, allowing for stocks to rebuild.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Fiordland Marine Guardians announced the extended closure yesterday.

Both areas have been closed to amateur blue cod fishing since 2005 following recommendations to the Minister of Fisheries from the Fiordland Marine Guardians.

All Fiordland's inner sounds have been closed to commercial fishing since 2005 and Milford Sound has been closed to commercial fishing since 1994.

The Ministry of Fisheries has been monitoring blue cod stocks in Milford and Doubtful Sounds since the summer of 2005-06 to see how they were responding to the amateur fishing closures.

However, inshore fishery manager Rose Grindley said there was not yet a "clear trend" in blue cod numbers.

"The fisheries will continue to be monitored by the Ministry of Fisheries, with a research project planned for the 2009 summer."

Fiordland Marine Guardians chairman Malcolm Lawson said the guardians always intended to put a long-term management plan in place, based on the results of the monitoring programme.

"This is still the case, but the reality is that we are dealing with a relatively slow-growing fish, so these things take time."

The guardians, formed in 1996, are a group of community representatives who advise central and local government agencies on how to manage the Fiordland marine environment.

Mr Lawson said next year the guardians would be reviewing the overall management plan of the area's marine environment and they planned to ask the public and user groups for their views on current provisions and future management ideas.