11th July 2006

Kingfish release a great initiative

“This is a great day for the relationship between our recreational and commercial fishing industries,” Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton said as he watched over one thousand kingfish cascading into their new home at the Noises, in the Hauraki Gulf.

‘Kingfish go wild’ is a New Zealand Recreational Fishing Council (NZRFC) initiative, supported by fishing company Sanford Limited, to release into the wild 20 tonnes of healthy kingfish bred by the Parengarenga fish farm.

“It was great to see all those kingfish delivered into the wild. This is the first site of five where 10,000 to 20,000 kingfish are being released. The project demonstrates a strong commitment from both the recreational and commercial industries to improve the fishery, and bodes well for the future of our shared fishery management regime.

“The project will also provide the opportunity to professionally tag up to 5000 of the fish in these releases and accordingly is likely to contribute useful information on the fishery”.

The project was developed after the Parengarenga fish farm closed down last month. The NZRFC stepped in with a plan to buy the fish and release them into the wild, provided they were disease free. Permits were pushed through quickly by the Ministry of Fisheries to enable the staggered releases to start this week.

Jim Anderton said he was impressed with the commitment shown by stakeholders to build up their fisheries. “The NZRFC has had support from recreational fishers, many fishing clubs, NIWA, MFish, the Parengarenga Fishfarm Limited, and the major sponsor Sanford Limited.

"While it obviously has been a sad period for the people of Parengarenga with the end of their fish farm venture, the kingfish release has a New Zealand 'feel good' factor. I am very happy that different groups have been able to work together to get a excellent outcome quickly, which goes towards greater sustainability of our fisheries," Jim Anderton said today.

ENDS

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