The Waikouaiti River may be closed to commercial eel fishing if an application for a mataitai on the waterway is approved.
Kati Huirapa ki Runanga Puketeraki has applied for a mataitai (customary fishing reserve) to be imposed from the mouth of the river west to the Waikouaiti fishing easement, including the Merton tidal arm and wetlands.
If granted, a mataitai would not restrict whitebaiting, as those fish were governed by conservation, not fisheries, legislation.
Runanga chairman Matapura Ellison said most of the concerns about the mataitai proposal had come from people concerned about losing the opportunity to whitebait.
''A lot were agitated about it.''
But their concerns were allayed at a recent public meeting when Ministry for Primary Industries staff clarified the issue, saying whitebait were outside the scope of the mataitai.
The river and wetland area contained several traditional fishing grounds of special significance to the runanga for customary food gathering, he said.
The runanga was concerned about commercial fishing affecting stocks of fish in the river, in particular, long-finned eels and flounder.
Few long-finned eels had been found in the system in recent years and short-finned eels also seemed to be depleted, he said.
''Given they are such a long-lived animal, if the river is depleted it can take generations to restock.''
The mataitai would operate alongside the taiapure that was gazetted in 1999 for the coastal waters off Karitane.
''We plan to incorporate the local community in this. The taiapure has been very successful in that regard and we'd use the same model if the mataitai was gazetted.''
A South Island eel fisherman directed the Otago Daily Times to the South Island Eel Industry Association website for its policy on mataitai.
It says the association would generally oppose applications for mataitai, as they adversely affect commercial access to the eel fishery.
However, where mataitai applications were confined to traditional food-gathering areas, the association would consider supporting them on a case-by-case basis.
The association also had a policy on sustainable management of eel habitat.
