Challenger Fishery Management Area

Finfish method restrictions

Line fishing/ (Long Lines)/ Dahn Lines

In all areas where line fishing is permitted:

• No person may use or be in possession of more than one line (other than handlines or rod and reel lines).
• All surface floats attached to any line must be marked clearly, legibly and permanently with the fishers initials and surname. A phone number is also useful.
• No person may use or possess a line with more than 25 hooks.
• Where more than one person is using a line from a vessel (other than handlines or rod and reel lines), no more than two lines (other than handlines or rod and reel lines), may be used, set from or possessed on board that vessel.
• Line fishing includes the use of Long lines and Dahn (drop) lines but does not include rod and reel, or hand lines.

Possession and use of Long Lines are prohibited in Pelorus Sound inside a line from Tawero Point to Opani-Aputa Point and in Kenepuru Sound (see map 1).

General netting restrictions

The following general restrictions apply in all areas:

• No person may set or possess more than one drag net, set net, fyke net, or any other type of net at any time.
• Nets must be hauled by hand only.
• Any net or nets used either individually or jointly must not extend across more than one-quarter of the width of any river, stream, channel, bay or sound at any time of the tide.
• No person may set or use a baited net (except fyke nets).
• Nets must not be staked (except fyke nets).

Set net closed areas

Set Netting is totally prohibited from Cape Jackson to the Clarence River. This area extends out to 4 nautical miles seaward and includes the entire Queen Charlotte Sound, Tory Channel, Port Underwood, Cloudy Bay, Clifford Bay, and Cape Campbell areas. West Coast Set netting is also totally prohibited from Farewell Spit to Haast. This area extends out to 2 nautical miles*

Exemption

• Queen Charlotte Sound inside a line from West Head Point (Ruakaka Bay) to Deiffenbach Point between 1 April and 30 September for Flatfish Set Nets only.
• Westhaven Inlet

Flatfish Set Net means a net that is less than 9 meshes deep, is anchored at each end, does not exceed a total length of 60 metres, has a mesh size greater or equal to 100mm and a monofilament diameter less than 0.35mm.

Other Set Net Restrictions

Set netting in the shaded areas on map 2 may only be undertaken using set nets with a net mesh size greater than or equal to 100mm which do not exceed nine meshes in height and must be set in direct contact with the seabed.

These restrictions apply to setting and possession of nets in: 

Pelorus Sound: inside a line from Tawero Point to Opani-Aputa Point.
Tennyson Inlet and Hallam Cove: inside a line from Sheep Point to Camel Point to Cregoe Point.
Croiselles Harbour: inside a line from Cape Soucis, outside the Islands to Kakaho Point.

Within Kenepuru Sound, set netting is totally prohibited from 1 October to 31 March inclusive.

 

Drag net restrictions

• Drag nets must not exceed 40 metres in length.
• Total warp length must not exceed 200 metres.

Set net requirements

• Only one set net is allowed to be used from, or be on board any vessel. (An additional net is allowed for baitfishing if it is less than 10 metres long and has a mesh size of 50 mm or less).
• Set nets must not exceed 60 metres in length.
• A set net must not be set within 60 metres of another net.
• Each end of a set net must have a surface float that is clearly, legibly and permanently marked with the fisher’s initials and surname. A phone number is also useful. Only one float is required for fyke nets.
• No net may be used in a way that causes fish to be stranded by the falling tide.

Set netting bans from October

New bans on set netting are due to come into force from 1 October 2008 to protect South Island Hector's dolphins. More information on affected areas is available here, or contact your local MFish office.

Minimum mesh sizes

There are restrictions on the net mesh sizes that can be used for taking particular species, as shown in the following table.

Minimum fish sizes

The following minimum sizes for particular species apply in the Challenger Fishery Management Areas, unless specified.

Length measurement

Finfish length is measured from the tip of the nose to the “V” in the tail (as shown in diagram).