Police are investigating what might be the first violent disagreement between North Otago whitebaiters in 26 years, following an alleged assault on a first-time whitebaiter on the Kakanui River.
Senior Constable Bruce Dow, of Oamaru, said police received a complaint from a first-time whitebaiter who alleged they were assaulted by another man at the Kakanui boat ramp, near the Kakanui bridge, at 5.30pm on Sunday.
Police were looking for any witnesses to the alleged attack, which arose over a dispute about the victim's fishing spot.
Department of Conservation (Doc) Coastal Otago freshwater ranger Pete Ravenscroft said if the alleged assault was found to be related to whitebait it would be ''really disappointing''.
''I have never heard of an assault on any of the East Coast rivers regarding whitebait since Doc took over in 1987. But I do know they are passionate about positions on the bank, but they don't own the bank.
''Generally, everyone is very well behaved. Generally, the worst river we have is the Clutha, but perhaps that's because they are playing the game for keeps down there. But even that has improved out of sight.''
Although fist-fights among whitebaiters had previously been reported on the West Coast, he would hate to think the same rough and tumble could mar whitebaiting on the east coast.
''The difference between the West Coast and the east coast fisheries is the West Coast is nearly a commercial component, but you would never consider the Kakanui anywhere near a commercial fishery. Most of the people up there are generally guys who take enough for a feed,'' Mr Ravenscroft said.
''What we do know is that people leave their fishing gear there on the bank and we'd like to remind people that all your gear has to be removed out of the water.''
Last season people left spotting boards in rivers to stake a claim to a position, but spotting boards were still considered fishing gear, and people leaving gear in the water could be fined up to $5000.
The official whitebait season, excluding the South Island West Coast, opened on August 15 and catches of up to 2kg had already been reported on the Kakanui and Shag rivers, he said.
