Otago Fish & Game councillors were yesterday asked to give feedback on a Fish & Game New Zealand Council draft code of conduct for sports fishing. Otago councillor Ian Cole, of Wanaka, said he was concerned the code was promoting the hooking and landing of no more than six fish a day per angler.
The six-fish quota, even when the fish were caught and released, would impact on the fishery "and I think we should exercise some sort of restraint", he said.
"To quantify it and say ‘six fish’ — we are heading down a really dark road."
The inclusion of the line in the code was "silly" and clouded its purpose, Mr Cole said.
"I’m all for educating people to exercise restraint."
However, council chairman Monty Wright, of Mosgiel, told the Dunedin meeting restricting an angler to landing six fish was unfair as an angler might fish for one day in a season.
"I don’t think that is being fair to our clients at all — they get that one opportunity and why should you restrict them? You restrict the amount of fish they kill but there is no need to restrict the amount of fish that they catch, but that’s my own personal opinion."
Otago council chief executive Niall Watson said the council did not have enough tools to manage angling pressure.
"This is an attempt to do something towards maintaining fishery quality."
