Bryan Burgess, co-owner of B&B Sports Ltd, Gore, with
the offending felt-soled footwear. Photo by Grant Leishman.
A Gore sports shop owner is outraged by Fish & Game
New Zealand's ban of felt-soled wading boots for freshwater
sports fishing.
B & B Sports Ltd co-owner and professional fishing guide
Bryan Burgess, of Gore, said the way the ban had come about
was disgusting.
"A lot of local fishermen are not very happy. I just think
they [Fish & Game NZ] have lost the plot to be honest,''
Mr Burgess said.
B & B Sports has 19 pairs of the feltsoled boots in stock
for the coming fishing season and has been told to throw them
out.
"They're not worth anything now,'' he said.
Fish & Game NZ said the ban on feltsoled wading boots
when freshwater sports fishing was to curb the spread of
waterway pests such as didymo, as the boots were considered a
high-risk carrier of microscopic aquatic organisms.
The ban has been agreed to "in principle'' by Conservation
Minister Steve Chadwick but is yet to be formally approved by
the minister or included in the proposed 2008/09 Anglers
Notice for Fish & Game Regions.
If approved, the ban would be effective from October 1.
Fish & Game Eastern Southland officer Zane Moss said
Eastern Southland fishermen would obviously be aggrieved
about the ban.
"They may not see the ban as necessarily beneficial to
Southland. It's unfortunate, but necessary. We're still
concerned with the spread of didymo at a local level.''
Anglers should accept the ban for the greater New Zealand
good, Mr Moss said.
Fish & Game NZ said the ban should come as no surprise to
most anglers as the use of felt-soled waders was strongly
discouraged during the 2007/08 season.
Mr Burgess disagreed and said there had been a lack of
communication as the season was only two months away.
"I don't think they've done it [the ban] properly. Didymo has
been around for four years now . . . we live with it, as we
had to and we've cleaned all our gear,'' Mr Burgess said.
He said he told clients of the rules and regulations before
leaving the shop to ensure they did not spread pests like
didymo.
Earlier this year Fish & Game NZ consulted with agencies
and stakeholders on the proposed ban and formal submissions
supporting the ban were received from the Ministry of
Agriculture and Forestry's Biosecurity division, the Ministry
of Tourism and Environment Southland.
Of the 43 submissions made, 20 supported the ban, 17 opposed
it and six supported the ban with various conditions.
Some opposing the ban cited the safety provided by felt-soled
boots, as felt or fibrous soles provided a good grip on
slippery boulders and had become popular with anglers.
Mr Burgess was concerned about what could happen if older
fishermen were to cross the Mataura River without felt-soled
boots.
"It really scares me,'' he said.
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