Kahawai, a popular recreational fish are becoming increasingly scarce says Recreational Fishers Marlborough Association spokesman Tony Orman.
The kahawai has been labelled “the family fish” as it provides recreational fishing for young and old and provides a home cooked meal for families. However the resource is being “hammered” by the greed of corporate company purse seiners to the point of collapse..
“Recent years have seen very much less and less kahawai being caught at popular fishing spots such as The Diversion and Wairau Bar. It’s a mere shadow of the once abundance of fish there,” he said.
Purse Seiners
Kahawai are schooling pelagic fish, introduced to the Quota Management System (QMS) in 2004 “to ensure sustainability.” They are highly prized by recreational fishers and commercially bulk harvested-largely via purse seining.
“The alarming decline shows the failure of the QMS to ensure that sustainability,” said Tony Orman.
A few decades ago, surface feeding kahawai schools were easily identified by excited gulls and terns wheeling above the feeding melees and were frequently seen around Marlborough’s coastline and even just off the Picton foreshore.
“But that is very much past tense with a feeding school only very occasionally seen today.”
The Recreational Fishers Marlborough Association had written over the years to successive fisheries ministers about the decline in kahawai but received ministerial responses
that denied any problem.
“No doubt written by some ministers boffin for the Minister, the replies were insulting. The point is anglers are on the water often week by week, see and know trends. Some bureaucrat or minister in centrally heated offices doesn’t,” he said.
Bulk Fishing
The kahawai individually is a low value fish but bulk fishing methods by corporate company purse seiners compensated for that in dollar returns.
Tony Orman said reports from around the country indicated that purse seiners were targeting kahawai aided by spotter aircraft radioing the location of surface feeding schools of fish.
Reports elsewhere in the country were of several purse seiners targeting big schools of kahawai and removing them in rapid time.
The association had reports of purse seiners plundering surface shoals in the outer Pelorus Sound.
Kahawai are especially important to the food chain of the saltwater ecosystem as the location of a feeding spree on herrings attracted numerous sea birds while underneath other fish species like snapper, blue cod and others feasted on sinking scraps.
“It becomes a four way banquet. Remove the kahawai and seabirds and other fish species have their food supply depleted. Kingfish a major prey of kahawai and even seals suffer with depleted food supplies. Overfishing of a species can have unintended detrimental consequences for other life in the food chain.”
Recreational Only
The Recreational Fishers Marlborough Association believed kahawai should be managed as a “recreational only” species along with kingfish, a concept that was promoted over 20 years ago but ignored by governments.
The national Total Allowable Catch (TAC) – commercial – for kahawai is 5733 tonnes The TAC for KAH3 (includes Marlborough) is 410 tonnes but in the year 2023-4, the actual commercial kahawai catch was 221 tonnes – numerical evidence of over-fishing.
Here in Hawkes Bay, surface workups by kahawai used to be numerous and frequent but today, only very occasionally. Why does the Ministry of Fisheries not see the folly of boom and bust. As pointed out a busted fisheries impacts laterally to the detriment of other related species.
Boom and bust fisheries are characterised by over-fishing and poor management, followed by a swift collapse in fish stocks due to excessive harvest. The orange roughy story years ago should have taught the ministry a strong lesson to heed.
Orange roughy were “discovered”in the mid 1990s, and by the early 2000s the stock was already in decline.
But the lesson was not taken on board because according to reports, new stock assessment in 2025 has shown the orange roughy stock is close to collapse (8-18% biomass) with one of four models showing it may have already collapsed.
Surely an enquiry is needed about fisheries management and the ministry’s competence?
A few decades ago, I happened to be president of the then NZ Recreational Fishing Council and in the “NZ Herald”, I warned about the dangers of rushing in on the new orange roughy fishery pointing out it was necessary to know the population dynamics of the species, facts such as how long did orange roughy live, when and where did they spawn and not to fish for spawning fish, before allowing fishing.
The Minister – the late Duncan McIntyre – no doubt fed comments by Ministry bureaucrats – scoffed in the “Herald” and said there was nothing wrong in fishing for spawning fish.
Well sad to say, the collapse of the orange fishery beds that followed showed my warnings to be justified.
Orange roughy populations plummeted by up to 90% in some areas during the late 1980s and 1990s due to “gold rush” style overfishing. The slow-growing, long-lived species couldn’t sustain high catch rates (nearly 90,000 tonnes globally in the late 80s), leading to industry collapse, fishery closures by the mid-90s, and drastic quota cuts.
To the current over-fished state of kahawai now, the ministry and ministers were warned by Legasea (remember the Kahawai Court Case?). The Kahawai Legal Challenge in New Zealand by Legasea was a landmark court case spanning from 2005 to 2009, with key rulings in 2007 (High Court), 2008 (Court of Appeal), and 2009 (Supreme Court). The case challenged the Minister of Fisheries’ decision to allow kahawai into the Quota Management System (QMS) in 2004/2005.
More recently about 2019 at a guess, the Recreational Fishers Marlborough Association wrote to Minister Stuart Nash who again on ministry advice, replied telling the association the decline wasn’t true. It was an insulting letter .
The Recreational Fishers Marlborough Association in meetings in Blenheim with the ministry more recently, warned of the visible decline in kahawai but again were ignored.
Yes an enquiry into the ministry competence and mismanagement is long overdue.
The enquiry should also embrace the question of the current minister Shane Jones alleged “conflict of interest” related to his past close association with the commercial fishing industry, and political donations from corporate commercial companies.
Is there a conflict of interest? Yes or no?
To recreational fishers, I suggest strongly, link up with Legasea and the NZ Sport Fishing Council. Get involved; don’t be afflicted by apathy.
Shane Jones’ “reforms” that will reshape the industry in favour of his commercial fishing paymasters might actually be gold for us peasants – fingers crossed the public sees first-hand the greed and avarice and strikes back! The trick with taking everything is that the victim has nothing to lose – and dudes love their fishing. We have an election only months away and National must be feeling very exposed on this issue – pissing off your key demographic is like suicide, a soft pale underbelly…
Tony is right about the decline needing to be addressed and his suggestion of linking with groups like Legasea, the NZ Sport Fishing Council and the Recreational Fishers Marlborough Association will certainly help. As he says get involved; don’t be afflicted by apathy. Let your MP know how dissatisfied you are with the current level of plunder. Beware of the politicians who blame it on climate change. In North Canterbury the numbers at the Waimakariri mouth have bounced back partly over the past four years. The Rakaia and Rangitata have not seen this however. Trawlers off the Waimakariri mouth are probably too obvious. The Canterbury Bight and Marlborough’s depletions are purely due to local factors and bulk fishing is the obvious answer.
The commercial fishers will not stop until they’ve finished raping there own futures which is hard for most to fathom, myself included, and when you have an embersial like Jones assisting in thegenocide, it simply makes it easier for the commercial fisherman to blunder there way into extinction
Why is it that observations by those who frequent the sea or bush are completely ignored.
The Ministry of Fisheries must rate as one of the most incompetent government departments. I believe Dan Bolger – son of ex prime minister Jim Bolger – is listed as the Deputy Director-General for Fisheries New Zealand. Ray Smith – whoever he is – is director general Ministry Primary Industries.
The quota management system is tailored to suit corporates who aggregate quota by buying out NZ operators.
Approximately 80% of all fishing quota is owned by just ten corporates..
Large corporate and iwi-aligned entities with significant quota holdings include Sanford Limited, Sealord, Talley’s Group, and Aotearoa Fisheries Limited (Moana New Zealand).
I have noticed fewer and fewer kahawai at river mouths. Kahawai are a wonderful sports fish, great for kids and a grand fish for saltwater fly fishing. They are underrated in terms of a food fish because people tend to overcook it. But properly prepared and properly cooked, kahawai are great eating and in these days of rising cost of living, important to the family budget.
Anglers see fewer and fewer kahawai. Why doesn’t the Minister Jones and his ministry see it too?
Because anglers are on the water fishing for most of the year.while unlike anglers politicians and bureaucrats are in their Wellington based cosy offices.
Listen to the anglers Shane Jones and stop favouring your commercial mates.
Thank you Recreational Fishers Marlborough Association.
We need vigilant watchdogs like you.