Paua fishing will be banned on a stretch of beaches north of Dunedin after years of declining numbers.
Fisheries New Zealand announced the regulations this week. They target from Waikouaiti Bay south to Potato Point, north of Long Beach.
They take effect December 12,
and close all recreational and commercial paua fishing within the area known as the taiapure.
The move was put out for consultation late last year and staff made recommendations to Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash.
Some parts of that coast are already closed to paua fishing.
University of Otago staff found the percentage of paua above minimum harvestable size outside the existing closure area on Huriawa Peninsula declined from 14.6% in 2008-09 to 4.0% in 2016.
The percentage of legal-sized paua within the closed area increased by 1%.
The restrictions have been sought for years by the East Otago Taiapure Committee.
Committee chairman Brendan Flack said if something was not done, the paua population there would have disappeared.
Much of the area was already closed to commercial fisheries.
However, there was definitely still recreational fishing in the area, although the exact amount was not known.
The end goal was to open it again as a fishery "managed in an appropriate way" when the population recovered.
"We hope that’s sooner rather than later," Mr Flack said.
Control of invasive marine pests and paua re-seeding programmes would continue.
The rules also prohibit harvesting seven species of kelp and the commercial and recreational use of set-nets, and contain the requirement of all fishers to hold only whole or gilled/gutted fish aboard their vessels.
