From tomorrow the amount of finfish and shellfish recreational fishers can take from inside Fiordland will be reduced while takes in the oceans outside the fiords will be encouraged.
It's been a five-year journey to get here for the Government-appointed Fiordland Marine Guardians.
The group is a statutory advisory board appointed by the Minister for the Environment and is required to monitor the Fiordland Marine Area and to advise ministers on rule changes.
The fishing watchdog was warned in 2019 by long-time local fishers that stocks in the fiords of hapuku/bass, blue cod and paua were seemingly much lower and harder to catch than in the past.
A particular focus to for the Guardians was to reduce fishing in the vulnerable inner fiords but also the entrances to them, where stocks appear depleted.
The new rules include both in the same restricted area.
Rebecca McLeod, chair of the Guardians, talks to Kathryn about the need to restrain fishing inside the fiords.
Boats docked at Milford Sound harbour in the southwest of Fiordland National Park, in July 2021. Photo: AFP/ Sanka Vidanagama
