Port Chalmers man Jason Lewis managed to catch a 90kg bluefin tuna off the coast in the early hours of Tuesday morning, following up the efforts of fisherman Trent Anderson, who had caught two bluefin tuna earlier his month, one of them coming in at more than 125kg.
But it could be a short-lived thing to grab bluefin tuna, what Mr Anderson called ‘‘the pinnacle of the ocean’’.
Department of Conservation statutory planning and marine manager Robyn Roberts confirmed last week marine reserves did not allow any taking of seafood.
The Papanui Marine reserve is located in the area where bluefin tuna roam off Taiaroa Head.
Five marine reserves were approved late last year, with one still going through consultation.
‘‘The final steps for the five marine reserves for the Otago coastal region are expected to be completed within coming months,’’ Ms Roberts said.
Activities in those areas were not restricted until the marine reserves were formally in place.
‘‘Once the marine reserves are in place, people can continue to explore and enjoy them through a range of recreational activities including swimming, snorkelling, diving and boating.
‘‘Marine reserves are ‘no take’ and fishing and gathering of seafood, including kelp, within them is prohibited.’’
Mr Lewis said he had gone out on his brother Dwayne’s boat Shirlwyn and landed the fish about 1am, battling it for 45 minutes before dragging the fish in.
‘‘We’d spent all night the night before sort of drifting around with the bait and we’d had one strike, as you would call it.
‘‘That next night we sort of decided we’d be a bit more particular about it, so we just sort of steamed around until we found some decent sort of sign on the fish finder. And then we stumbled across it and dropped the line down and two minutes later we had the fish on.’’
It was a mixture of excitement, relief and shock when the fish was finally caught, he said.
He had spent much of the time since he came back on shore about 11am on Tuesday looking after the fish and slicing it up for food for friends and family.
It tasted great and people were loving the treat.
Mr Lewis said the bluefin fish travelled around NZ, so could be caught elsewhere and outside the marine reserve off Dunedin, but it would lead to some delicate fishing near the reserve.
It was not easy for smaller boats to head further out to sea, he said.
