Officers working in the Eastern Bay of Plenty have made several stops over summer. In one case, a person was found with 779 green lipped mussels taken from the closed area.
Part of Ōhiwa Harbour has been closed to mussel harvest since November 2024. The closure runs for two years and was requested by Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa to support a traditional rāhui and help an area of mussel beds recover after reseeding work.
Fisheries New Zealand district manager for Gisborne and Whakatāne, Jordan Cooper, said the closure is there to rebuild local stocks and people who ignore it slow that work.
Other inspections found more mussels taken unlawfully. One person was found with 92 green lipped mussels taken from the closed area. Another had 154 green lipped mussels taken from an open area. In open areas, the daily limit for green lipped mussels is 50 per person.
Officers also inspected a separate group of fishers who were found with 2,771 pipi taken from an open area of the harbour. The daily limit for pipi is 150 per person. Fisheries New Zealand seized the group’s vessel and says prosecution is likely.
Fisheries New Zealand is reminding fishers to check the rules before gathering shellfish. Temporary closures and rāhui can apply to specific parts of a harbour, even when nearby areas remain open. The free NZ Fishing Rules app includes current limits, closures, and gear restrictions, and continues to work once downloaded, even when there is no mobile coverage.
